U.S. patent number 9,950,084 [Application Number 15/257,185] was granted by the patent office on 2018-04-24 for apparatus and methods for maintaining sterility of a specimen container.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc.. The grantee listed for this patent is Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Gregory J. Bullington, Shannon Eubanks, Shan E. Gaw, Jay Miazga, Skooks Pong.
United States Patent |
9,950,084 |
Bullington , et al. |
April 24, 2018 |
Apparatus and methods for maintaining sterility of a specimen
container
Abstract
An apparatus includes a fluid reservoir, a sterilization member,
and a transfer adapter. The sterilization member operably couples
to the fluid reservoir. The sterilization member is configured to
be transitioned between a first configuration, in which the
sterilization member obstructs an inlet surface of the fluid
reservoir and maintains the inlet surface in a substantially
sterile environment, and a second configuration, in which the inlet
surface is unobstructed. The transfer adapter is configured to be
placed in fluid communication with a portion of a patient. The
transfer adapter is configured to move relative to the
sterilization member from a first position to a second position
such that a surface of the transfer adapter contacts the
sterilization member to transition the sterilization member to the
second configuration. The fluid reservoir is placed in fluid
communication with the transfer adapter when the transfer adapter
is in the second position.
Inventors: |
Bullington; Gregory J.
(Bellevue, WA), Gaw; Shan E. (Seattle, WA), Miazga;
Jay (Seattle, WA), Pong; Skooks (Kirkland, WA),
Eubanks; Shannon (Woodinville, WA) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Magnolia Medical Technologies, Inc. |
Seattle |
WA |
US |
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Assignee: |
Magnolia Medical Technologies,
Inc. (Seattle, WA)
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Family
ID: |
58188602 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/257,185 |
Filed: |
September 6, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20170065733 A1 |
Mar 9, 2017 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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62213875 |
Sep 3, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61B
5/155 (20130101); A61B 5/15003 (20130101); A61B
5/150992 (20130101); A61L 2/0082 (20130101); B01L
3/5635 (20130101); B01L 3/50825 (20130101); A61B
5/150351 (20130101); B01L 3/502 (20130101); A61B
5/150732 (20130101); A61B 5/154 (20130101); A61B
5/150389 (20130101); A61L 2202/121 (20130101); A61B
5/150503 (20130101); B01L 2300/042 (20130101); B01L
2200/026 (20130101); B01L 2300/044 (20130101); B01L
2200/141 (20130101); A61L 2202/15 (20130101); B01L
2300/0672 (20130101); A61L 2202/22 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61B
5/00 (20060101); A61L 2/00 (20060101); A61B
5/15 (20060101); B01L 3/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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1219283 |
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Jul 2002 |
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EP |
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2692324 |
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Feb 2014 |
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EP |
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2010-189415 |
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Sep 2010 |
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JP |
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WO 1986/005568 |
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Sep 1986 |
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WO |
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WO 91/18632 |
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Dec 1991 |
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WO |
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WO 1997/018845 |
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May 1997 |
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WO |
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WO 2000/041624 |
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Jul 2000 |
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WO |
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WO 2005/068011 |
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Jul 2005 |
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WO |
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WO 2006/031500 |
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Mar 2006 |
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WO |
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Primary Examiner: Hindenburg; Max
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Cooley LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/213,875 entitled,
"Apparatus and Methods for Maintaining Sterility of a Specimen
Container," filed Sep. 3, 2015, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Claims
What is claimed:
1. A method for obtaining bodily-fluid samples from a patient, the
method comprising: establishing fluid communication between the
patient and a first fluid reservoir, the first fluid reservoir
being in selective fluid communication with a transfer adapter;
withdrawing a volume of bodily-fluid from the patient and into the
first fluid reservoir; coupling a second fluid reservoir to the
transfer adapter, the second fluid reservoir having an inlet
surface and being coupled to a sterilization member configured to
at least temporarily obstruct the inlet surface to maintain the
inlet surface in a sterile environment prior to coupling the second
fluid reservoir to the transfer adapter; moving the sterilization
member relative to the inlet surface such that the inlet surface is
unobstructed by the sterilization member as the second fluid
reservoir is coupled to the transfer adapter, the second fluid
reservoir placed in fluid communication with the transfer adapter
when the second fluid reservoir is coupled to the transfer adapter
and the inlet surface is unobstructed by the sterilization member;
establishing fluid communication between the first fluid reservoir
and the second fluid reservoir; and transferring a volume of the
bodily-fluid from the first fluid reservoir to the second fluid
reservoir.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the second fluid reservoir is at
least partially disposed within a housing, the sterilization member
being coupled to the housing to maintain at least a portion of the
second fluid reservoir in a sterile environment prior to the moving
the sterilization member relative to the inlet surface.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first fluid reservoir and the
transfer adapter are included in a handle, the method further
comprising: establishing fluid communication between the patient
and a lumen-defining device prior to the establishing fluid
communication between the patient and the first fluid reservoir;
and actuating an actuator included in the handle to place the
lumen-defining device in fluid communication with the first fluid
reservoir.
4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: coupling the
lumen-defining device to the transfer adapter prior to the
establishing fluid communication between the patient and the
lumen-defining device; and decoupling the lumen-defining device
from the transfer adapter after the withdrawing of the volume of
bodily-fluid from the patient and prior to the coupling of the
second fluid reservoir to the transfer adapter.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: withdrawing a first
volume of bodily-fluid from the patient and into a pre-sample
reservoir in fluid communication with the lumen-defining device,
the volume of bodily-fluid withdrawn into the first fluid reservoir
being a second volume of bodily-fluid; sequestering the first
volume of bodily-fluid in the pre-sample reservoir; and coupling
the lumen-defining device to the transfer adapter after the
sequestering of the first volume of bodily-fluid and prior to the
establishing fluid communication between the patient and the first
fluid reservoir.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: decoupling the
lumen-defining device from the transfer adapter after the
withdrawing of the volume of bodily-fluid from the patient and
prior to the coupling of the second fluid reservoir to the transfer
adapter.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: withdrawing a first
volume of bodily-fluid from the patient and into a pre-sample
reservoir prior to the establishing fluid communication between the
patient and the first fluid reservoir, the volume of bodily-fluid
withdrawn into the first fluid reservoir being a second volume of
bodily-fluid withdrawn from the patient after the first volume of
bodily-fluid.
8. The method of claim 7, the method further comprising:
sequestering the first volume of bodily-fluid within the pre-sample
reservoir prior to the establishing fluid communication between the
patient and the first fluid reservoir.
Description
BACKGROUND
Embodiments described herein relate generally to the parenteral
procurement of bodily-fluid samples, and more particularly to
systems and methods for parenterally-procuring bodily-fluid samples
with reduced contamination from microbes or other contaminants
exterior to the bodily-fluid source that can potentially distort
the results of diagnostic testing in a healthcare setting.
Health care practitioners routinely perform various types of
microbial as well as other broad diagnostic tests on patients using
parenterally-obtained bodily-fluids. As advanced diagnostic
technologies evolve and improve, the speed and value of information
that can be provided to clinicians continues to improve. As such,
ensuring that the bodily-fluid sample to be analyzed is collected
in a fashion that maintains specimen integrity similarly ensures
that analytical diagnostic results are representative of the in
vivo conditions of a patient. Examples of diagnostic technologies
that are reliant on high quality, non-contaminated bodily-fluid
samples include but are not limited to microbial detection,
molecular diagnostics, genetic sequencing (e.g., DNA, RNA), and the
like. When biological matter, cells external to the intended source
for sample procurement, and/or other external contaminants are
inadvertently included in the bodily-fluid sample that is to be
analyzed, the opportunity for an adulterated specimen driving a
potentially inaccurate patient diagnosis may occur.
In some instances, patient samples (e.g., bodily-fluids) are tested
for the presence of one or more potentially undesirable microbes,
such as bacteria, fungi, or yeast (e.g., Candida). Microbial
testing may include incubating patient samples in one or more
sterile and/or non-sterile vessels containing culture media or
other types of solutions that are conducive to microbial growth
and/or other real-time diagnostic approaches including molecular
polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR-based) and/or other
technologies (e.g. magnetic resonance, automated microscopy,
spatial clone isolation, etc.) used to rapidly detect and identify
organisms. Generally, when microbes tested for are present in the
patient sample, the microbes flourish over time in the culture
medium. These organisms may also be identified by other advanced
diagnostic testing technologies (e.g., molecular diagnostics, PCR,
genetic testing/sequencing, magnetic resonance, automated
microscopy, spatial clone isolation, etc.). In the case of
employing a culture medium, after an amount of time (e.g., a few
hours to several days--which can be longer or shorter depending on
the diagnostic technology employed), organism growth can be
detected by automated, continuous monitoring. For example, in some
instances, such automated monitoring can detect carbon dioxide
produced by organism growth. The presence of microbes in the
culture medium (as indicated by observation of carbon dioxide)
and/or via other detection methods suggests the presence of the
same microbes in the patient sample which, in turn, suggests the
presence of the same microbes in the bodily-fluid of the patient
from which the sample was obtained. Accordingly, when microbes are
determined to be present in the culture medium (or more generally
in the sample used for testing), the patient may be prescribed one
or more antibiotics or other treatments specifically designed to
treat or otherwise remove the undesired microbes from the
patient.
Generally, patient bodily-fluid samples are collected in various
settings and are then transported to a laboratory-type environment
for processing and analysis. For example, the settings for
collecting the patient sample(s) could include an outpatient
clinic, a hospital (including emergency department, intensive care
unit (ICU), medical/surgical floor, or the like) or a commercial
setting (including a drugstore or any other commercial enterprise
that assists with collection of bodily-fluid sample(s)). In all
settings, typically, protocols are developed, implemented, and
monitored to ensure the quality of the collection, handling,
preparation, transportation, etc. of a patient's bodily-fluid
sample(s). Generally, practitioners attempt to ensure the integrity
of the patient specimen(s), understanding that if the sample is
adulterated and/or contains matter that is not representative of
the patient's in vivo condition, a diagnostic error and ensuing
inaccurate treatment decision(s) may occur.
In some instances, patient samples, nonetheless, can become
contaminated during procurement. For example, some equipment used
in phlebotomy procedures can include multiple fluidic interfaces
(e.g., patient to needle, peripheral IV to catheter, needle/tubing
to sample vessels, etc.) that can each introduce points of
potential contamination. Additionally, the equipment used to
procure, transfer, transport, and/or otherwise contain a patient
sample are typically connected and/or otherwise placed in fluid
communication via manual intervention (e.g., a doctor,
phlebotomist, nurse, etc. handles and/or manipulates the
equipment). Since the interfaces of the equipment are not
consistently preassembled and/or sterilized as a single fluidically
coupled system, external contaminants (e.g., microbes,
dermally-residing organisms, cells from the patient that are not
from the intended source of bodily-fluid to be tested, etc.) can be
introduced to the patient sample via multiple sources (e.g. ambient
air, contaminants on surfaces of tables and/or counters in patient
room, microbes transferred from linens or clothing, skin deposited
on collection supplies from a healthcare worker during assembly
and/or sample procurement or transfer, cells from another source
within the patient, and/or the like). In some instances, the
contaminants can lead to a positive microbial and/or other
diagnostic test result, thereby falsely indicating the presence of
such microbes or other cells and/or other biological matter in
vivo. Such inaccurate results are a concern when attempting to
diagnose or treat a suspected illness or condition. For example,
false positive results from microbial tests may result in the
patient being unnecessarily subjected to one or more anti-microbial
therapies, which may cause serious side effects to the patient
including, for example, death, as well as produce an unnecessary
burden and expense to the healthcare system.
As such, a need exists for improved systems and methods for
disinfection of specimen container(s) that reduce microbial and/or
any other types of contamination associated with the collection of
bodily-fluid test samples by, for example, disinfecting equipment
and/or fluidic interfaces to ensure the integrity of the patient
sample(s) that are collected and analyzed in diagnostic processes
to minimize and/or substantially eliminate false positive as well
as false negative diagnostic results.
SUMMARY
Apparatus and methods for parenterally-procuring bodily-fluid
samples with reduced contamination from microbes exterior to the
bodily-fluid source and/or other undesirable external contaminants
or biological matter are described herein. In some embodiments, an
apparatus includes a fluid reservoir, a sterilization member, and a
transfer adapter. The fluid reservoir has an inlet surface and is
configured to receive a volume of bodily-fluid transferred from a
patient. The sterilization member operably couples to the fluid
reservoir and defines at least a portion of a substantially sterile
environment. The sterilization member is configured to be
transitioned between a first configuration, in which the
sterilization member obstructs the inlet surface and maintains the
inlet surface in the substantially sterile environment, and a
second configuration, in which the inlet surface is unobstructed.
The transfer adapter is configured to be placed in fluid
communication with a portion of a patient. The transfer adapter is
configured to move relative to the sterilization member from a
first position to a second position. A surface of the transfer
adapter is configured to contact the sterilization member as the
transfer adapter moves to the second position to transition the
sterilization member from the first configuration to the second
configuration. The fluid reservoir is placed in fluid communication
with the transfer adapter when the transfer adapter is in the
second position.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a bodily-fluid collection
device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a sample reservoir according to an
embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a bodily-fluid
collection device according to an embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sterilization and/or disinfection
member, a sample reservoir, and a transfer adapter included in the
bodily-fluid collection device of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of a bodily-fluid
collection device in a first configuration, according to an
embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of at least a portion of a transfer
adapter included in the portion of the bodily-fluid collection
device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a sterilization and/or disinfection
member included in the portion of the bodily-fluid collection
device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a portion of the bodily-fluid
collection device of FIG. 5.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the sterilization and/or
disinfection member of FIG. 7, in a second configuration.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the bodily-fluid
collection device of FIG. 5, in a second configuration.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a portion of a bodily-fluid
collection device in a first configuration, according to an
embodiment.
FIG. 12 is a partially exploded view of a sterilization and/or
disinfection member and a sample reservoir included in the
bodily-fluid collection device of FIG. 11.
FIGS. 13 and 14 are perspective views of the bodily-fluid
collection device of FIG. 11 as the bodily-fluid collection device
is transitioned from a first configuration to a second
configuration.
FIGS. 15-17 are perspective views of a bodily-fluid collection
device in a first, a second, and a third configuration,
respectively, according to an embodiment.
FIGS. 18-20 are perspective views of a bodily-fluid collection
device in a first, a second, and a third configuration,
respectively, according to another embodiment.
FIG. 21 is a perspective view of the bodily-fluid collection device
of FIG. 18 in, for example, in an optional fourth
configuration.
FIGS. 22-24 are perspective views of a bodily-fluid collection
device in a first, a second, and a third configuration,
respectively, according to another embodiment.
FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a method of
parentally-procuring bodily-fluid samples with reduced
contamination, according to an embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a fluid reservoir, a
sterilization member, and a transfer adapter. The fluid reservoir
has an inlet surface and is configured to receive a volume of
bodily-fluid transferred from a patient. The sterilization member
operably couples to the fluid reservoir and defines at least a
portion of a substantially sterile environment. The sterilization
member is configured to be transitioned between a first
configuration, in which the sterilization member obstructs the
inlet surface and maintains the inlet surface in the substantially
sterile environment, and a second configuration, in which the inlet
surface is unobstructed. The transfer adapter is configured to be
placed in fluid communication with a portion of a patient. The
transfer adapter is configured to move relative to the
sterilization member from a first position to a second position. A
surface of the transfer adapter is configured to contact the
sterilization member as the transfer adapter moves to the second
position to transition the sterilization member from the first
configuration to the second configuration. The fluid reservoir is
placed in fluid communication with the transfer adapter when the
transfer adapter is in the second position.
In some embodiments, a system for parenterally-procuring
bodily-fluid samples with reduced contamination from microbes
exterior to the bodily-fluid source includes a sample reservoir, a
handle, and an adapter. The handle is configured to be placed in
fluid communication with a patient. The handle has a coupler, a
fluid reservoir, and an actuator. The fluid reservoir is disposed
within the handle and configured to receive a volume of
bodily-fluid from the patient. The actuator is configured to be
transitioned between a first configuration, in which the coupler is
fluidically isolated from the fluid reservoir, and a second
configuration, in which the coupler is in fluid communication with
the fluid reservoir. The adapter is configured to be coupled to the
coupler of the handle. The adapter is at least temporarily coupled
to a sterilization member and to the sample reservoir such that an
inlet surface of the sample reservoir is maintained in a
substantially sterile environment collectively defined by the
adapter and the sterilization member prior to the adapter being
coupled to the coupler of the handle. The sterilization member is
at least partially removed from the adapter when the adapter is
coupled to the coupler of the handle.
In some embodiments, a method for parenterally-procuring
bodily-fluid samples with reduced contamination from microbes
exterior to the bodily-fluid source includes establishing fluid
communication between a patient and a first fluid reservoir, which
in turn, is in selective fluid communication with a transfer
adapter. A volume of bodily-fluid is withdrawn from the patient and
into the first fluid reservoir. A second fluid reservoir is coupled
to the to the transfer adapter. The second fluid reservoir has an
inlet surface and is coupled to a sterilization member configured
to at least temporarily obstruct the inlet surface. The
sterilization member is moved relative to the inlet surface such
that the inlet surface is unobstructed by the sterilization member
as the second fluid reservoir is coupled to the transfer adapter.
The second fluid reservoir is placed in fluid communication with
the transfer adapter when the portion of the second fluid reservoir
is coupled to the transfer adapter and the inlet surface is
unobstructed by the sterilization member. Fluid communication
between the first fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir is
established and a volume of bodily-fluid is transferred from the
first fluid reservoir to the second fluid reservoir.
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a sterilization and/or
disinfection member at least temporarily coupled to a sample
reservoir. The sample reservoir includes an inlet port that is
configured to be fluidically coupled to a transfer device to
receive a volume of bodily-fluid directly from a patient or
indirectly from the patient via an intermediary bodily-fluid
collection device. The sterilization and/or disinfection member is
configured to be placed in contact with the transfer device and
transitioned from a first configuration, in which the sterilization
and/or disinfection member fluidically isolates the inlet port of
the fluid reservoir, to a second configuration, in which at least a
portion of the sterilization and/or disinfection member is spaced
apart from the sample reservoir. The sample reservoir is configured
to be placed in fluid communication with the transfer device via
the inlet port when the sterilization and/or disinfection member is
in the second configuration.
In some embodiments, a sterilization and/or disinfection member is
coupled to a sample reservoir during a manufacturing process in a
position that prevents the clinician from collecting and/or
transferring a bodily-fluid sample into a fluid reservoir(s)
without engaging the sterilization and/or disinfection member to at
least substantially sterilize a connection therebetween, which in
turn, facilitates fluid communication of a bodily-fluid sample
between the patient and the collection vessel. By ensuring that
substantially no external contaminants and/or biological matter
(e.g., skin cells, tumor cells, organ tissue, etc.) external to the
target bodily-fluid source are captured in the sample vessel,
diagnostic results can improve with increased consistency. With
accurate diagnostic results, clinicians can derive an accurate
treatment/action plan, thereby reducing the likelihood of
misdiagnosing a patient, prescribing unnecessary treatment, holding
the patient in a clinical and/or hospital setting for an undue
and/or unnecessary period of time, and/or the like, which in turn,
can substantially reduce a risk of the patient developing a further
ailment (e.g., antibiotic complications, adverse drug reactions,
hospital-acquired infection, and/or the like) as well as
substantially reduce costs to hospital and/or other healthcare
institutions, third party payers and the healthcare systems as a
whole.
As used in this specification, the singular forms "a," "an" and
"the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates
otherwise. Thus, for example, the term "a member" is intended to
mean a single member or a combination of members, "a material" is
intended to mean one or more materials, or a combination
thereof.
As referred to herein, "bodily-fluid" can include any fluid
obtained from a body of a patient, including, but not limited to,
blood, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, bile, lymph, saliva, synovial
fluid, serous fluid, pleural fluid, amniotic fluid, and the like,
or any combination thereof.
As used herein, the term "set" can refer to multiple features or a
singular feature with multiple parts. For example, when referring
to set of walls, the set of walls can be considered as one wall
with distinct portions, or the set of walls can be considered as
multiple walls. Similarly stated, a monolithically constructed item
can include a set of walls. Such a set of walls can include, for
example, multiple portions that are in discontinuous from each
other. A set of walls can also be fabricated from multiple items
that are produced separately and are later joined together (e.g.,
via a weld, an adhesive or any suitable method).
As used herein, the words "proximal" and "distal" refer to the
direction closer to and away from, respectively, a user who would
place the device into contact with a patient. Thus, for example,
the end of a device first touching the body of the patient would be
the distal end, while the opposite end of the device (e.g., the end
of the device being manipulated by the user) would be the proximal
end of the device.
As used herein, the term "disinfecting agent" refers to a chemical
or combination of chemicals used to disinfect and/or to
substantially sterilize or maintain the sterility of a surface. A
disinfecting agent can be in any suitable form (e.g., gaseous,
aqueous, or solid). In some embodiments, a disinfecting agent can
be an antiseptic or the like that can be used to kill, destroy,
and/or otherwise substantially neutralize negative effects from
microbes such as, for example, germs, bacteria, viruses, and/or
other target microorganisms. In some embodiments, a disinfecting
agent can be in an aqueous form and substantially suspended by a
porous substrate. In other embodiments, a surface of a substrate
such as a wipe or diaphragm can be impregnated by and/or coated
with a disinfecting agent. A non-limiting list of disinfecting
agents can include, for example, alcohol (e.g., ethanol,
1-propanol, 2-proponal, isopropanol, and/or the like), quaternary
ammonium compounds ((e.g., benzalkonium chloride (BAC), cetyl
trimethylammonium bromide (CTMB), cetylpyridinium chloride (Cetrim
(CPC)), benzethonium chloride (BZT) and/or the like), boric acid,
chlorhexidine gluconate, hydrogen peroxide, iodine, octenidine
dihydrochloride, phenol, polyhexanide (e.g., polyhexamethylene
biguanide (PHMB)), sodium bicarbonate, silver compounds (e.g.,
silver nitrate, silver proteinate,
chlorhexidine-silver-sulfadiazine, and/or the like), and/or any
other suitable disinfectant or antiseptic, and/or a combination
thereof. Moreover, any of the disinfecting agents can be used with,
for example, a binding agent, a suspension agent, a surfactant,
and/or the like.
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a bodily-fluid collection
device 100, according to an embodiment. Generally, the bodily-fluid
collection device 100 (also referred to herein as "collection
device") is configured to disinfect and/or otherwise maintain the
sterility of one or more interfaces prior to defining a fluidic
coupling to reduce external contaminants residing on the
interfaces. Once disinfected, the one or more interfaces can be
fluidically coupled to allow a flow of bodily-fluid that is
substantially free of external contaminants to flow from a patient
to a fluid reservoir either directly or via an intermediary
device.
The collection device 100 includes a transfer adapter 120, a fluid
reservoir 140, and a sterilization and/or disinfection member 150.
The transfer adapter 120 has a proximal end portion 121 and a
distal end portion 122, and defines an inner volume 130
therebetween. The transfer adapter 120 can be any suitable shape,
size, or configuration. For example, the transfer adapter 120 can
be substantially cylindrical, including a set of annular walls that
define at least a portion of the inner volume 130. In other
embodiments, the transfer adapter 120 can be polygonal such as
rectangular, pentagonal, octagonal, etc. Moreover, as shown in FIG.
1, the transfer adapter 120 (and/or a set of walls of the transfer
adapter 120) can house and/or receive at least a portion of the
fluid reservoir 140 and the sterilization and/or disinfection
member 150. Although not shown in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, the
transfer adapter 120 can include and/or can be coupled to a
puncture member, port, and/or any other suitable transfer device
configured to fluidically couple the transfer adapter 120 to an
inner volume (not shown) of the fluid reservoir 140 (e.g., a needle
that can puncture a port, septum, or portion of the fluid reservoir
140).
The proximal end portion 121 of the transfer adapter 120 can be
substantially open to movably receive at least a portion of the
fluid reservoir 140. In other words, at least a portion of the
fluid reservoir 140 can be inserted through the proximal end
portion 121 of the transfer adapter 120 to dispose that portion of
the fluid reservoir 140 within the inner volume 130. As described
in further detail herein, once the portion of the fluid reservoir
140 is disposed within the inner volume 130 of the transfer adapter
120, the fluid reservoir 140 can be moved from a first position in
which the sterilization and/or disinfection member 150 obstructs,
covers, engages, disinfects, and/or otherwise substantially
maintains the sterility of a port of the fluid reservoir 140 to a
second position in which the sterilization and/or disinfection
member 150 is at least partially disengaged from the fluid
reservoir 140 to allow access to the port.
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the distal end portion 122 of the
transfer adapter 120 can be physically and fluidically coupled to
any suitable lumen-defining device (e.g., as a catheter, cannula,
needle, trocar, or the like), collection device, transfer device,
diversion device, and/or the like. For example, in some
embodiments, the distal end portion 122 of the transfer adapter 120
can include a port such as a Luer Lok.RTM. that can be physically
and fluidically coupled to a device configured to receive a flow of
bodily-fluids from a patient.
In some embodiments, the transfer adapter 120 can be physically and
fluidically coupled to a transfer device that includes and/or is
coupled to a peripheral intravenous (IV) needle or a peripheral IV
catheter, which places the transfer device in fluid communication
with a portion of the patient. In other embodiments, the transfer
adapter 120 can be placed in fluid communication with any suitable
intermediary device, which contains and/or receives a bodily-fluid
collected from a patient in a separate and/or independent step. In
some embodiments, the intermediary device can be a collection
device, a diversion device, a syringe-based collection device
and/or the like such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,535,241
entitled, "Fluid Diversion Mechanism for Bodily-Fluid Sampling,"
filed Sep. 17, 2013 (the "'241 patent"); U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,724
entitled, "Fluid Diversion Mechanism for Bodily-Fluid Sampling,"
filed May 29, 2013 (the "'724 patent"); U.S. Pat. No. 9,204,864
entitled, "Fluid Diversion Mechanism for Bodily-Fluid Sampling,"
filed Jul. 29, 2013 (the "'864 patent"); U.S. Patent Publication
No. 2014/0155782 entitled, "Sterile Bodily-Fluid Collection Device
and Methods," filed Dec. 4, 2013 (the "'782 publication"); and/or
U.S. Pat. No. 9,155,495 entitled, "Syringe-Based Fluid Diversion
Mechanism for Bodily-Fluid Sampling," filed Dec. 2, 2013 (the "'495
patent"), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by
reference in their entireties. In addition, the transfer adapter
120 can include a puncture member or the like (as described above)
in fluid communication with such a transfer device, which in turn,
can puncture a portion, surface, and/or port of the fluid reservoir
140 to establish fluid flow path between the patient and the fluid
reservoir 140. Although described as being physically and
fluidically coupled to a transfer device, in other embodiments, the
transfer adapter 120 can be monolithically formed with a transfer
device. In still other embodiments, the transfer adapter 120 can be
operably coupled to a transfer device via any suitable intervening
structure (e.g., via sterile flexible tubing, one or more cannulas,
one or more intermediate devices, one or more fluid reservoirs,
and/or the like).
Although not shown in FIG. 1, the transfer adapter 120 can include
one or more seals and/or disinfection members removably coupled to
a surface of the transfer adapter 120, which, prior to use, can
fluidically isolate the inner volume 130 from a volume outside of
the transfer adapter 120. For example, in some embodiments, the
proximal end portion 121 of the transfer adapter 120 can include a
seal and/or disinfection member that can be removably coupled to a
proximal surface of the transfer adapter 120 to substantially cover
an opening defined by the proximal end portion 121. Such a seal can
be, for example, a housing, a cap, a relatively thin sheet or film,
Tyvek.RTM. material, an elastomeric member (e.g., a plunger or
stopper), and/or the like. As such, the seal can fluidically
isolate the inner volume 130 to substantially maintain the
sterility of the inner volume 130 prior to use. In some
embodiments, the transfer adapter 120 can include any of the seals
and/or disinfection members described in U.S. Patent Publication
No. 2015/0246352 entitled, "Apparatus and Methods for Disinfection
of a Specimen Container," filed Mar. 3, 2015, the disclosure of
which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
As described above, the fluid reservoir 140 is configured to be
placed in fluid communication with the transfer adapter 120 to, for
example, receive a volume of bodily-fluid from a patient. In some
embodiments, the fluid reservoir 140 includes a surface 141 that
can be pierced, punctured, and/or otherwise placed in an open
configuration to place an inner volume of the fluid reservoir 140
in fluid communication with a volume outside of the fluid reservoir
140. For example, in some embodiments, the surface 141 can include
and/or can define a frangible portion, a port, a septum, and/or the
like that can be pierced, for example, by a puncture member
included in the transfer adapter 120 to place the inner volume of
the fluid reservoir 140 in fluid communication with transfer
adapter 120 and any suitable device coupled thereto, as described
in further detail herein.
The fluid reservoir 140 can be any suitable shape, size, and/or
configuration that can receive and/or store a volume of a
bodily-fluid. For example, in some embodiments, the fluid reservoir
140 can be any suitable reservoir described in U.S. Pat. No.
8,197,420 ("the '420 patent"), entitled, "Systems and Methods for
Parenterally Procuring Bodily-Fluid Samples with Reduced
Contamination," filed on Dec. 13, 2007, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In some
embodiments, the fluid reservoir 140 can define a negative pressure
and/or otherwise can be substantially evacuated. For example, in
some embodiments, the fluid reservoir 140 can be a BacT/ALERT.RTM.
SN or a BacT/ALERT.RTM. FA (manufactured by BIOMERIEUX, INC.), a BD
Vacutainer.RTM. or a BD Microtainer.RTM. (manufactured Becton,
Dickinson, and Company (BD)), a Nanotainer.TM. (manufactured by
Theranos), and/or any suitable reservoir, syringe, vial, microvial,
microliter vial, container, microcontainer, or the like.
In some embodiments, the fluid reservoir 140 can be any suitable
sample or culture bottle such as, for example, an aerobic or
anaerobic culture bottle containing a culture medium. In such
embodiments, a bodily-fluid sample volume can be delivered and/or
transferred into the a culture bottle (e.g., the fluid reservoir
140) and after a given time, incubation period, or the like,
microbes contained in the bodily-fluid sample can flourish or grow
within the culture medium. After the incubation period, the
bodily-fluid sample can be tested to determine quantitative and/or
qualitative information associated with such microbial growth
within the culture medium. In some instances, for example, the
bodily-fluid samples can be tested via real-time diagnostics
including molecular PCR-based technologies, genetic
testing/diagnostics, and/or any other suitable test. In some
instances, results of such testing can be indicative of the
presence of Gram-Positive bacteria, Gram-Negative bacteria, fungi,
yeast (e.g., Candida), and/or any other contaminants or organisms
contained within the bodily-fluid sample, which in turn, is
indicative of their presence within the patient. As described
above, however, contaminants or microbes external to the body of
the patient that are transferred into the inner volume of fluid
reservoir 140 and/or otherwise entrained in the flow of the
bodily-fluid sample can result in false positive or false negative
results when testing bodily-fluid sample. Thus, disposing the
sterilization and/or disinfection member 150 about a fluidic
interface of the fluid reservoir 140 (e.g., at least a portion of
the surface 141) prior to use can reduce a likelihood of such
contaminants being transferred into the fluid reservoir 140, as
described in further detail herein.
The sterilization and/or disinfection member 150 can be any
suitable sterilization and/or disinfection member and/or mechanism
that is at least temporarily coupled to a portion of the fluid
reservoir 140 to at least temporarily maintain a sterility of the
portion of the fluid reservoir 140. In some embodiments, the
sterilization and/or disinfection member 150 can disinfect the
portion of the fluid reservoir 140 to remove contaminants and/or
the like. The sterilization and/or disinfection member 150 (also
referred to herein as "sterilization member") can be, for example,
a pad, a swab, a diaphragm, a sponge, a wipe, a cap, a foil, and/or
the like that can include and/or the can at least partially house a
disinfecting agent. In some embodiments, the sterilization member
150 can be a diaphragm or the like that can have at least one
surface that is substantially impregnated with a disinfecting agent
such as those described above. In some embodiments, the
sterilization member 150 can include and/or can define a portion
that is substantially porous, for example, to act as a substrate
for the disinfection agent. In other embodiments, the sterilization
member 150 can include a surface that is formed from a disinfecting
material such as, for example, a silver compound.
In some embodiments, the sterilization member 150 can be a sheet,
foil, cap, membrane, diaphragm, and/or the like that can form a
substantially fluid tight seal with a portion of the fluid
reservoir 140. For example, the sterilization member 150 can be
coupled to, in contact with, and/or otherwise disposed about at
least a portion of the surface 141 of the fluid reservoir 140 such
that at least the portion of the surface 141 is maintained in a
substantially sterile environment prior to use. For example, in
some embodiments, such a sterilization member 150 can be coupled to
the fluid reservoir 140 during a manufacturing process performed in
a substantially sterile environment. In some embodiments, a
disinfecting agent can be disposed within the volume at least
partially circumscribed by a seal formed by the sterilization
member 150 (e.g., ethylene oxide gas, gamma radiation or the like
can be used to create a sterile environment within the inner
volume).
In use, a user (e.g., a doctor, nurse, technician, physician,
phlebotomist, etc.) can manipulate the collection device 100 to at
least indirectly couple the transfer adapter 120 to a
lumen-defining device, transfer device, collection device,
diversion device, etc. such as, for example, a standard winged
butterfly needle, a syringe, a peripheral IV catheter, and/or the
like. In some embodiments, such a device can be any of those
described in the '241 patent, the '724 patent, the '348
publication, the '782 publication, and/or the '419 publication. In
some instances, such a device can be placed in communication with a
patient prior to being coupled to the transfer adapter 120. In
other instances, the transfer adapter 120 can be coupled to, for
example, a needle or cannula prior to being inserted (e.g.,
percutaneously) into the patient. With the transfer adapter 120 in
fluid communication with the patient, the user can manipulate the
collection device 100 to insert at least a portion of the fluid
reservoir 140 into the proximal end portion 121 of the transfer
adapter 120. In some embodiments, prior to inserting the fluid
reservoir 140, the user can manipulate the collection device 100 to
remove, for example, a seal that substantially covers the proximal
end 121 of the transfer adapter 120, as described above.
The user can move the fluid reservoir 140 relative to the transfer
adapter 120 to place the fluid reservoir 140 in a first position
within the inner volume 130, thereby placing the collection device
100 in a first configuration. In some instances, the sterilization
member 150 can be placed in contact with a portion of the transfer
adapter 120 such as an inner surface and/or any suitable feature
extending from the inner surface when the collection device 100 is
in the first configuration. For example, as described above, in
some embodiments, the inner surface of the transfer adapter 120 can
include a surface feature, contour, protrusion, slot, cutting
member, peeling member, and/or the like configured to engage the
sterilization member 150 as the fluid reservoir 140 is inserted
and/or moved within the inner volume 130 of the transfer adapter
120. In some instances, the user can maintain the fluid reservoir
140 in the first position for a predetermined time (which in some
embodiments, is facilitated by physical design characteristics that
prevent the user from bypassing the first position) to ensure the
sterilization member 150 is engaged with and/or otherwise in
contact with a desired portion of the transfer adapter 120 prior to
moving the fluid reservoir 140 from the first position to a second
position within the transfer adapter 120. In other embodiments, the
fluid reservoir 140 need not be held in the first position for the
predetermined time. That is to say, in some embodiments, the user
can move the fluid reservoir 140 relative to the transfer adapter
120 (or vice versa) in a substantially continuous manner to move
the fluid reservoir 140 through the first position and into the
second position.
Once the fluid reservoir 140 has been placed at or near a desired
position within the transfer adapter 120, a portion of the surface
141 (e.g., a portion including a port, septum, seal, etc.) can be
exposed and/or otherwise unobstructed by the sterilization member
150. In other words, placing the fluid reservoir 140 in a desired
position within the transfer adapter 120 can transition the
sterilization member 150 from a first configuration, in which the
sterilization member 150 engages the surface 141 to substantially
maintain the sterility of at least a portion of the surface 141, to
a second configuration, in which at least a portion of the
sterilization member 150 is disengaged from the surface 141.
Specifically, the transfer adapter 120 can remove at least a
portion of the sterilization member 150 from contact with the
surface 141 as the fluid reservoir 140 is placed in the second
position, as indicated by the arrow AA in FIG. 1.
With the sterilization member 150 in, for example, the second
configuration, a user can then manipulate the transfer adapter 120
and/or the fluid reservoir 140 to place the fluid reservoir 140 in
fluid communication with the transfer adapter 120, as described in
detail above. Thus, the collection device 100 can be used to
maintain the sterility of a fluidic interface associated with the
surface 141 of the fluid reservoir 140 to reduce the likelihood of
contamination from microbes disposed on the surface 141. By having
the sterilization member 150 coupled to the fluid reservoir 140
prior to use, contamination of a sample of bodily-fluid can be
reduced that might otherwise result from insufficient disinfection
by a user. In addition, having the transfer adapter 120
automatically remove the sterilization member 150 as the fluid
reservoir 140 is moved relative to the transfer adapter 120 can
ensure compliance with a substantially consistent sterilization
and/or disinfection process, which in turn, can reduce inaccurate
test results, costs, and time associated with collecting and
testing a sample volume.
In some embodiments, the collection device 100 and/or the transfer
adapter 120 can be included in and/or can form at least a portion
of a preassembled and/or all-in-one collection device. In such
embodiments, the preassembled and/or all-in-one collection device
can include, for example, any suitable number of fluid reservoirs
(e.g., one fluid reservoir, two fluid reservoirs, three fluid
reservoirs, four fluid reservoirs, or more) that can be
preassembled with and/or incorporated in (e.g., unitarily formed
with) a transfer device including a sterilization and/or
disinfection member such as those described herein. By way of
example, in some embodiments, the collection device 100 (and/or any
suitable portion thereof) can be included in and/or can otherwise
form a portion of a preassembled and/or all-in-one collection
device such as those described in '782 publication incorporated by
reference above.
While described above as maintaining at least a portion of the
surface 141 of the fluid reservoir 140 in a substantially sterile
environment, in some embodiments, the sterilization member 150 can
be configured to disinfect the surface 141 of the fluid reservoir
140. That is to say, the sterilization member 150 can be used to
remove contaminants from the surface 141 of the fluid reservoir 140
(i.e., to disinfect the surface 141 of the fluid reservoir 140).
The sterilization and/or disinfection members described herein,
therefore, are not intended to be limited to either function and,
for simplicity, are referred to henceforth as "sterilization
members."
Referring to FIG. 2, a fluid reservoir 240 or sample container is
illustrated according to an embodiment. In some instances, the
fluid reservoir 240 can be used and/or included in, for example,
the collection device 100 described above. Thus, while not shown in
FIG. 2, the fluid reservoir 240 can be coupled to and/or can
include a sterilization member configured, for example, to maintain
a sterility of a portion of the fluid reservoir 240 (e.g., a
proximal surface) prior to use. Moreover, the fluid reservoir 240
can be positioned within and/or can engage a transfer adapter
(e.g., such as the transfer adapter 120) and can be moved relative
thereto to 1) automatically disengage at least a portion of the
sterilization member, for example, from the proximal surface and 2)
place the fluid reservoir 240 in fluid communication with the
transfer adapter, as described in further detail herein with
respect to specific embodiments.
The fluid reservoir 240 can be any suitable reservoir for
containing a bodily-fluid, including, for example, a single use
disposable collection reservoir, a vacuum based collection
reservoir (e.g., maintaining negative pressure conditions that can
produce a suction or vacuum force), a sample reservoir as described
in the '420 patent, and/or the like. While shown as having a bottle
shape or the like, the fluid reservoir 240 can be any suitable
bottle, tube, vial, microvial, container, syringe, etc. In some
embodiments, the reservoir 240 can be an aerobic culture bottle or
an anaerobic culture bottles. That is to say, the fluid reservoir
240 can include an aerobic or anaerobic culture medium disposed
within an inner volume defined by the fluid reservoir 240, as
described in detail above with reference to the fluid reservoir
140. Moreover, the culture medium disposed therein can be
associated with one or more tests, procedures, and/or actions
configured to, for example, detect the presence of certain microbes
that are known to thrive in that medium. In other embodiments, the
fluid reservoir 240 can include common additives such as heparin,
citrate, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), oxalate, and/or
the like that are used to preserve specific characteristics and/or
qualities of a bodily-fluid sample (e.g., blood) prior to
diagnostic analysis.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the fluid reservoir 240 includes
a proximal surface 241, a proximal rim 243, and a label 242. The
proximal surface 241 can include and/or can otherwise form a port,
septum, frangible portion or the like, which can be transitioned
from a substantially sealed configuration to a substantially
unsealed configuration to place an inner volume of the fluid
reservoir in fluid communication with a volume outside of the fluid
reservoir 240, as described in detail above. In other words, the
proximal surface 241 can be, for example, an inlet surface. The
proximal rim 243 can be, for example, a flange, a rib, a rolled
portion, and/or the like. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the
proximal rim 243 of the fluid reservoir 240 can be removably
coupled to a sterilization member such as those described herein.
In some embodiments, such a sterilization member, for example, can
be coupled to the proximal rim 243 during a manufacturing process
or the like such that at least a portion of the proximal surface
241 is maintained in a substantially sterile environment prior to
use, as described in further detail herein.
As shown in FIG. 2, the label 242 is disposed about a portion of
the fluid reservoir 240. The label 242 can be and/or can include a
tag or indicia associated with one or more characteristics of the
fluid reservoir 240. For example, the label 242 can include a code
portion such as, for example, a serial number, bar code, a quick
response (QR) code, a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, a
near field communication (NFC) tag, and/or the like. In this
manner, the code portion can provide a user (e.g., a doctor,
phlebotomist, nurse, technician, etc.) with information associated
with the fluid reservoir 240 such as, for example, the type of
culture medium or additive (as described above) disposed therein,
the amount (e.g., volume, mass, density, etc.) of the culture
medium or additive (as described above) disposed therein, a volume
of bodily-fluid that the fluid reservoir 240 should receive, a
tolerance value, the type of tests to be performed on the
bodily-fluid sample disposed therein, temperature, and/or the like.
Thus, the user can determine, inter alia, the amount or the volume
of bodily-fluid that he or she should transfer into the fluid
reservoir 240.
In some embodiments, the label 242 can include a volumetric
indicator portion or the like that can provide a visual indicator
associated with the bodily-fluid disposed in the fluid reservoir
240. For example, the volumetric indicator portion can include a
set of evenly spaced lines, tic marks, dashes, arrows, markers,
and/or any other suitable gradation or indicia that can be
associated with a specific volume of the fluid reservoir 240 if
filled to that point. In some embodiments, the fluid reservoir 240
can be substantially transparent, allowing the user to visualize
the sample disposed therein. For example, a user can visually
assess the volume of the bodily-fluid disposed in the fluid
reservoir 240 by determining at what point along the indicator
portion the meniscus of the bodily-fluid aligns. In some
embodiments, a device can be coupled to the fluid reservoir 240
that is configured to verify and/or otherwise indicate a volume of
bodily-fluid transferred into the fluid reservoir such as, for
example, those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.
15/146,967 entitled, "Devices and Methods for Verifying a Sample
Volume," filed May 5, 2016, the disclosure of which is incorporated
herein by reference in its entirety. In some such embodiments,
verifying and/or otherwise indicating a volume of bodily-fluid
transferred into the fluid reservoir (e.g., the fluid reservoir
240) can facilitate the transfer of a desired and/or predetermined
volume of the bodily-fluid into the fluid reservoir, which in turn,
can limit false test results otherwise associated with an
undesirable volume of the bodily-fluid (e.g., too much bodily-fluid
or too little bodily-fluid for a given test or tests).
Although the fluid reservoir 240 is specifically described above,
in other embodiments, the fluid reservoir 240 can be any suitable
shape, size, and/or configuration. For example, while the fluid
reservoir 240 is shown and described as including the label 242
configured to provide a user with information associated with the
fluid reservoir 240, in other embodiments, a fluid reservoir
without a label and/or other identifying portion can be used.
As described above, in some embodiments, the fluid reservoir 240
can be coupled to and/or can include a sterilization member that
can be at least partially disengaged from the fluid reservoir 240
when the fluid reservoir 240 is positioned within a transfer
adapter or device. For example, FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate at least a
portion of a collection device 300 according to an embodiment. The
collection device 300 (or portion thereof) includes a transfer
adapter 320 configured to receive a portion of at least one fluid
reservoir 340 and at least one sterilization member 350. More
specifically, at least a portion of the one or more fluid
reservoirs 340 can be inserted into the transfer adapter 320, which
can be operable to transition the at least one sterilization
members 350 from a first configuration, in which the one or more
sterilization members 350 substantially maintain the sterility of a
portion of the one or more fluid reservoirs 340, to a second
configuration in which the one or more sterilization members 350
are at least partially disengaged from the one or more fluid
reservoirs 340 to allow the fluid reservoirs 340 to be placed in
fluid communication with the transfer adapter 320, as described in
further detail herein.
The collection device 300 (or portion thereof) as shown in FIG. 3,
includes a reservoir housing 345 that contains, houses, and/or
otherwise receives two fluid reservoirs 340 (e.g., a first fluid
reservoir 340 and a second fluid reservoir 340). In other
embodiments, any number of fluid reservoirs 340 can be contained
within the housing 345. The fluid reservoirs 340 can be any
suitable shape, size, and/or configuration. For example, in some
embodiments, the fluid reservoirs 340 are substantially similar to
and/or the same as the fluid reservoir 240 described above with
reference to FIG. 2. Thus, the fluid reservoirs 340 are not
described in further detail herein.
The housing 345 can be any suitable shape, size, and/or
configuration. For example, in some embodiments, the housing 345
can have a size and/or shape that is associated with a size and/or
shape of the fluid reservoir to be disposed therein. More
particularly, the housing 345 defines an inner volume that is
sufficient to receive at least the first and second fluid reservoir
340. As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 345 is coupled to the
sterilization member 350, which is configured to at least
temporarily fluidically isolate the inner volume of the housing 345
from a volume outside of the housing 345. For example, the housing
345 can be an enclosure that defines one or more openings defined
by a sidewall or the like through which the fluid reservoirs 340
are inserted to be disposed within the inner volume. As shown, the
sterilization member 350 is coupled to the sidewall defining the
opening to at least temporarily seal the inner volume of the
housing 345. For example, the sterilization member 350 can be
coupled to and/or in contact with a surface of the sidewall such
that the surface of the sidewall and the sterilization member 350
collectively define a fluid tight seal. In some embodiments, for
example, the sterilization member 350 can be coupled to the surface
via an adhesive, a standard medical sealing process using, for
example, Tyvek, ultrasonic weld, or the like. In this manner, the
inner volume of the housing 345 is substantially fluidically
isolated from a volume outside of the housing 345.
In some embodiments, the fluid reservoirs 340 can be disposed in
the housing 345 and the sterilization member 350 can be coupled to
the housing 345 during manufacturing. In such embodiments, for
example, the housing 345 can be substantially sterilized using
standard medical sterilization practices (e.g. ethylene oxide,
gamma radiation, e-beam, and/or the like) to facilitate maintenance
of a sterile environment. Similarly, the fluid reservoirs 340 can
be substantially sterilized and disposed in the inner volume of the
housing 345 while the housing 345 and the fluid reservoirs 340 are
in the sterile environment. Likewise, the sterilization member 350
can be substantially sterilized and coupled to the housing 345,
after the fluid reservoirs 340 have been disposed therein, while
the housing 345, the fluid reservoirs 340, and the sterilization
member 350 are disposed in the sterile environment. Thus, while the
sterilization member 350 is coupled to the housing 345 and in an
unused configuration, the inner volume of the housing 345
(containing the fluid reservoirs 340) is a substantially sterile
volume and/or environment. For example, in some embodiments,
housing 345, fluid reservoirs 340, sterilization member 350 can be
assembled (as described above) in a sterile environment such as
ethylene oxide gas or the like. Moreover, by sealing the housing
345 with the sterilization member 350, the fluid reservoirs 340
within the inner volume of the housing 345 are maintained in, for
example, an ethylene oxide gas environment until the housing 345 is
unsealed.
The sterilization member 350 can be any shape, size, and/or
configuration suitable for coupling to the housing 345. For
example, the sterilization member 350 can be one or more films,
foils, sheets, membranes, diaphragms, and/or the like. More
particularly, the sterilization member 350 can include a first
portion 356 that is removably coupled to a second portion 357. The
first portion 356 can be, for example, a base configured to be
coupled to the housing 345. As such, the first portion 356 can be
formed from a relatively stiff material that can provide structural
integrity for the sterilization member 350 to be coupled to the
housing 345. The second portion 357 can be removably coupled to the
first portion 356 and can be formed from a relatively flexible
material to allow the second portion 357 to deform, bend, fold,
peel, and/or otherwise at least partially disengage from the first
portion 356. Furthermore, a surface of the sterilization member 350
(e.g., of the first portion 356) in contact with the surface of the
housing 345 can have and/or can define an area that is greater than
an area defined by the surface of the housing 345. In other words,
the sterilization member 350 can form a flange or the like that
extends beyond a perimeter of the housing 345, as shown in FIG. 3
and as described in further detail herein.
Prior to use, the arrangement of the sterilization member 350 is
such that the second portion 357 is coupled to the first portion
356 to form a substantially fluid tight seal and/or interface. In
some embodiments, for example, a perimeter of the second portion
357 (or an area near a perimeter) can be coupled to an associated
perimeter of the first portion 356 via an adhesive or ultrasonic
weld. In other embodiments, substantially the entirety of a surface
of the second portion 357 can be adhered to substantially the
entirety of a surface of the first portion 356. In still other
embodiments, the second portion 357 can be coupled to the first
portion 356 in any suitable manner. Moreover, the second portion
357 is coupled to the first portion 356 in such a manner that the
first portion 356 and the second portion 357 collectively form a
substantially sterile area. For example, in some embodiments, a
substantially sterile area can be circumscribed by a seal defined
by the coupling of the second portion 357 to the first portion 356.
In some embodiments, the second portion 357 can be coupled to the
first portion 356 via an adhesive, which in turn, is impregnated
with and/or otherwise includes a sterilizing agent such as those
described above. Thus, the sterility of an area of the first
portion 356 of the sterilization member 350 aligned with and/or
covering, for example, the opening of the housing 345 is maintained
prior to use.
The transfer adapter 320 can be any suitable transfer adapter. For
example, in some embodiments, the transfer adapter 320 can be
substantially similar to the transfer adapter 120 described above
with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, aspects of the transfer adapter 320
are not described in further detail herein. As shown in FIG. 4, the
transfer adapter 320 includes an inner surface 323 that defines an
inner volume 330 configured to receive a portion of the housing 345
and at least a portion of the sterilization member 350. Although
not shown in FIG. 4, the transfer adapter 320 can include a
puncture member, a port, a transfer member, and/or the like
configured to establish fluid communication between the transfer
adapter 320 and the fluid reservoirs 340.
The inner surface 323 defines a set of channels 324 configured to
engage a portion of the sterilization member 350 as the housing 345
is inserted into the inner volume 330. More particularly, the
channels 324 can slidably receive a portion of the sterilization
member 350 that extends beyond the perimeter of the housing 345 (as
described above) and can define a substantially linear range of
motion of the housing 345 and the sterilization member 350 relative
to the transfer adapter 320. In addition, the arrangement of the
channels 324 can be such that as the sterilization member 350 is
inserted into the channels 324 and the housing 345 is moved
relative to the transfer adapter 320, a portion of the inner
surface of the transfer adapter 320 defining the channels 324
peels, removes, decouples, and/or otherwise disengages the second
portion 357 of the sterilization member 350 from the first portion
356 of the sterilization member 350, thereby exposing a surface of
the first portion 356 that is aligned with and/or otherwise covers
at least a portion of the opening defined by the housing 345.
For example, in use, a user can place the transfer adapter 320 in
fluid communication with a lumen-defining device, transfer device,
collection device, diversion device, and/or the like, which in
turn, is in fluid communication with a portion of the body of a
patient or an intermediary device containing a bodily-fluid, as
described in detail above with reference to the transfer adapter
120. Moreover, the housing 345, the fluid reservoirs 340, and the
sterilization member 350 can be in a first configuration in which
the sterilization member 350 seals the inner volume of the housing
345 such that the fluid reservoirs 340 disposed therein are
maintained in a substantially sterile environment. The user can
manipulate the transfer adapter 320 and/or the housing 345 to
insert the portion of the sterilization member 350 into the
channels 324. As the user inserts the portion of the sterilization
member 350 into the channels 324, the portion of the inner surface
323 that defines the channels 323 is placed in contact with the
sterilization member 350. As the housing 345 is moved relative to
the transfer adapter 320, the portion of the inner surface 323
disengages, peels, and/or otherwise decouples the second portion
357 of the sterilization member 350 from the first portion 356 of
the sterilization member 350. As such, the substantially sterile
surface of the first portion 356 that is aligned with and/or
otherwise covers at least a portion of the opening defined by the
housing 345 is exposed.
Once the user places the housing 345--and thus, the fluid
reservoirs 340 disposed therein--in a desired position relative to
the transfer adapter 320, the user can manipulate the collection
device 300 (or portion thereof) to place the transfer adapter 320
in fluid communication with at least one of the fluid reservoirs
340. For example, in some embodiments, the user can actuate an
actuator configured to advance a puncture member or the like
through a surface of the fluid reservoir 340, thereby placing at
least one of the fluid reservoirs 340 in fluid communication with
the patient. Thus, at least one of the fluid reservoirs 340 can
receive a flow of bodily-fluid from the patient or an intermediary
device containing a bodily-fluid.
The arrangement of the collection device 300 (or portion thereof)
is such that the sterility of the fluid reservoirs 340 within the
housing 345 and the surface of the first portion 356 of the
sterilization member 350 is maintained until a time relatively
shortly before the transfer adapter 320 is placed in fluid
communication with the fluid reservoirs 340. Similarly, although
not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the transfer adapter 320 can include
and/or can be coupled to any suitable sterilization member or
mechanism that can be configured to maintain the sterility of, for
example, a puncture member or other transfer means until a time
relatively shortly before the transfer adapter 320 is placed in
fluid communication with the fluid reservoirs 340. Thus, by
maintaining the sterility of a fluidic interface between the
transfer adapter 320 and the fluid reservoirs 340 until a
relatively short time before placing the transfer adapter 320 in
fluid communication with the fluid reservoirs, the probability of
external contaminants being transferred into the bodily-fluid
sample received by the fluid reservoirs 340 can be reduced.
Moreover, pre-sterilizing fluidic interfaces and automatically
exposing those fluidic interfaces just before establishing fluid
communication between the transfer adapter 320 and the fluid
reservoir 340 can increase compliance with sterilization protocols
and ease of performing the procedure, as well as reduce costs and
inadvertent mistakes.
Although the collection device 300 is shown and described above as
including the housing 345 within which the fluid reservoirs 340 are
disposed and to which the sterilization member 350 is coupled, in
other embodiments, fluid reservoirs need not be disposed within a
housing and can be coupled directly to a sterilization member. For
example, FIGS. 5-10 illustrate at least a portion of a collection
device 400 according to another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the
collection device 400 includes a transfer adapter 420, at least one
fluid reservoir 440, and at least one sterilization member 450.
Some aspects of the collection device 400 can be similar in form
and function to associated aspects of the collection devices 100,
200, and/or 300 (and/or components thereof) described above. For
example, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-10 illustrates two fluid
reservoirs 440, each of which can be similar to or substantially
the same as the fluid reservoir 240 described above with reference
to FIG. 2. Thus, aspects of the collection device 400 similar in
form and function to associated and/or corresponding aspects of the
collection devices, and/or components thereof, described above are
not described in further detail herein. Moreover, while the
collection device 400 is shown in FIG. 5 as including the two fluid
reservoirs 440 and two sterilization members 450, in other
embodiments, the collection device 400 can include a transfer
adapter configured to receive one fluid reservoir and one
sterilization member. In still other embodiments, the collection
device 400 can include a transfer adapter configured to receive
more than two fluid reservoirs and more than two sterilization
members. In addition, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-10, the
two fluid reservoirs 440 can be substantially the same unless
otherwise indicated and the two sterilization members 450 can be
substantially the same unless otherwise indicated. Thus, a
discussion of a single fluid reservoir (e.g., the fluid reservoir
440) and a single sterilization member (e.g., the sterilization
member 450) can similarly apply to any number of fluid reservoirs
and any number of sterilization members, respectively, included in
the collection device 400.
The transfer adapter 420 of the collection device 400 can be any
suitable transfer adapter. For example, in some embodiments, the
transfer adapter 420 can be substantially similar to the transfer
adapter 120 described above with reference to FIG. 1. Thus, aspects
of the transfer adapter 420 are not described in further detail
herein. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the transfer adapter 420
includes an inner surface 423 that defines an inner volume 430
configured to receive a portion of the fluid reservoir 440 and at
least a portion of the sterilization member 450. Although not shown
in FIGS. 5 and 6, the transfer adapter 420 can include a puncture
member, a port, a transfer member, and/or the like configured to
establish fluid communication between the transfer adapter 420 and
the fluid reservoirs 440.
The inner surface 423 defines a set of channels 424 configured to
engage a portion of the sterilization member 450 as the fluid
reservoir 440 is inserted into the inner volume 430. For example,
the channels 424 can slidably receive a portion of the
sterilization member 450 to guide the sterilization member 450
and/or the fluid reservoir 440 to which it is coupled as the fluid
reservoir 440 is moved relative to the transfer adapter 420, as
described in further detail herein. In addition, the transfer
adapter 420 and/or the inner surface 423 thereof includes an
engagement portion 426 configured to engage a seal 457 or the like
of the sterilization member 450 as the sterilization member 450 is
moved relative to the transfer adapter 420 (e.g., as the portion of
the sterilization member 450 is moved within the channels 424 as a
result of the fluid reservoir 440 being moved relative to the
transfer adapter 420). For example, the engagement portion 426 can
extend from the inner surface 423 and can include a protrusion,
tab, flange, etc. configured to be placed in contact with a portion
of the seal 457 of the sterilization member 450. Moreover, the
engagement portion 426 is operable in transitioning the
sterilization member 450 from a first configuration to a second
configuration, as described in further detail herein.
The sterilization member 450 of the collection device 400 can be
any suitable sterilization member and/or mechanism. In the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-10, for example, the sterilization
member 450 is a cap or the like coupled to a portion of the fluid
reservoir 440. More particularly, the sterilization member 450
defines an inner volume 451 within which at a portion of the fluid
reservoir 440 is disposed. In some embodiments, for example, the
sterilization member 450 can be coupled to the fluid reservoir 440
during a manufacturing process (e.g., as described above with
reference to the fluid reservoirs 340 and sterilization member
350). In other embodiments, the sterilization member 450 can be
coupled to the fluid reservoir 440 prior to use (e.g., by a user).
Moreover, when the sterilization member 450 is coupled to the fluid
reservoir 440, the sterilization member 450 is configured to
maintain a fluidic interface of the fluid reservoir 440 (e.g., a
surface, port, etc.) in a substantially sterile environment prior
to use, as described in further detail herein. For example, in some
embodiments, the sterilization member 450 can include and/or can be
coupled to a pad, a swab, a sponge or porous material, and/or the
like that can include a disinfecting agent such as those described
herein. In some embodiments, at least a surface of the
sterilization member 450 can be impregnated with a disinfecting
agent such as, those described above. In some embodiments, the
sterilization members 450 can include and/or can define a portion
that is substantially porous, for example, to act as a substrate
for the disinfection agent. In this manner, the sterilization
member 450 can be disposed about a portion of the fluid reservoir
440 to maintain the sterility of the portion of the fluid reservoir
440 prior to use.
As shown in FIG. 7, the sterilization member 450 includes a flange
463 having a guide portion 452 and a ramp portion 453. The flange
463 extends from the sterilization member 450 such that at least a
portion of the flange 463 can be inserted in the channels 424 as
the sterilization member 450 is moved within the inner volume 430.
Moreover, a portion of the guide portion 452 can, for example,
orient the sterilization member 450 relative to the transfer
adapter 420 as the sterilization member 450 is inserted into the
inner volume 430. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the guide
portion 452 can extend from the flange 463 and can include, for
example, two protrusions, ribs, tabs, bends, etc. configured to be
inserted into a portion of the channels 424 of the inner surface
423 having a similar configuration. In other words, the channels
424 defined by the inner surface 423 of the transfer adapter 420
are configured to receive an associated sterilization member 450 in
a predetermined orientation and/or the like. In some embodiments,
the arrangement of the guide portion 452 can be associated with a
particular type of fluid reservoir. For example, in some
embodiments, a sterilization member can include and/or can have a
guide portion disposed on a first side and can be coupled to, for
example, an aerobic culture bottle. Conversely, the sterilization
member can include and/or can have a guide portion disposed on a
second side, opposite the first side, and can be coupled to, for
example, an anaerobic culture bottle. In other embodiments, a
sterilization member need not be associated with predetermined type
of fluid reservoir.
As described above, the sterilization member 450 includes the seal
457. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-10, the seal 457 can be a
sheet, foil, tape, and/or the like at least temporarily coupled to
a surface of the flange 463 and configured to maintain at least a
portion of the surface of the flange 463 in a substantially sterile
configuration prior to use. Moreover, as shown, for example, in
FIGS. 9-10, the sterilization member 450 can include and/or define
an opening 455 or port, which is substantially covered, obstructed,
or otherwise in contact with the seal 457. In other words, the seal
457 is at least temporarily coupled to a surface of the
sterilization member 450 to at least temporarily fluidically
isolate the opening 455 defined by the sterilization member 450, as
described in further detail herein.
As shown in FIGS. 7-9, a portion of the seal 457 defines an
aperture and is disposed on the ramp portion 453 of the flange 463.
The arrangement of the portion of the seal 457 and the ramp portion
453 is such that, as the sterilization member is moved within the
inner volume 430, the portion of the seal 457 disposed on and/or
otherwise in contact with the ramp portion 453 of the sterilization
member 450 is placed in contact with the engagement portion 426 of
the inner surface 423 of the transfer adapter 420. The engagement
portion 426, therefore, is operable in transitioning the
sterilization member 450 from the first configuration (see e.g.,
FIGS. 5-7) to the second configuration (see e.g., FIGS. 8-10), as
described in further detail herein.
In use, a user can place the transfer adapter 420 in fluid
communication with a lumen-defining device, transfer device,
collection device, diversion device, and/or the like, which in
turn, is in fluid communication with a portion of the body of a
patient (or intermediary device containing a bodily-fluid, as
described in detail above with reference to the transfer adapter
120. Moreover, the fluid reservoirs 440 and the sterilization
member 450 can be in a first configuration in which the
sterilization member 450 maintains the sterility of at least the
portion of the fluid reservoir 440 (e.g., a fluidic interface such
as a surface or port).
The user can manipulate the transfer adapter 420 and/or the fluid
reservoir 440 to insert the portion of the sterilization member 450
into the channels 424, as described above with reference to the
collection device 300. As the user inserts the portion of the
sterilization member 450 into the channels 424, the engagement
portion 426 of the inner surface 423 is placed in contact with the
portion of the seal 457 of the sterilization member 450. More
specifically, the ramp portion 453 of the sterilization member 450
defines a channel 454 or slot that exposes the portion of the seal
457 defining the aperture 458. As such, movement of the
sterilization member 450 (and fluid reservoir 440) within the inner
volume 430 disposes the engagement portion 426 (or a protrusion
extending therefrom) in the aperture 458 defined by the portion of
the seal 457, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10.
With the engagement portion 426 disposed in the aperture 458,
further movement of the sterilization member 450 advances the
sterilization member 450 relative to the engagement portion 426 of
the transfer adapter 420, which in turn, removes, disengages,
peels, and/or otherwise decouples at least a portion of the seal
457 from the sterilization member 450, as shown in FIGS. 8-10.
Expanding further, with the engagement portion 426 disposed in the
aperture 458 of the seal 457, at least a portion of the seal 457 is
maintained in a substantially fixed position relative to the
transfer adapter 420 as the sterilization member 450 is moved
within the inner volume 430. Thus, such an arrangement removes,
disengages, peels, and/or otherwise decouples a portion of the seal
457 from the surface of the sterilization member 450. Moreover, as
shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the sterilization member 450 is
disposed in a desired position relative to the transfer adapter
420, the seal 457 is sufficiently removed from the surface of the
sterilization member 450 such that the opening 455 or port is
exposed.
Once the user places the sterilization member 450--and thus, the
fluid reservoirs 440 coupled thereto--in the desired position
relative to the transfer adapter 420, the user can manipulate the
collection device 400 (or portion thereof) to place the transfer
adapter 420 in fluid communication with at least one of the fluid
reservoirs 440. For example, in some embodiments, the user can
actuate an actuator configured to advance a puncture member or the
like through the opening 455 of the sterilization member 450 and
through a surface or port of the fluid reservoir 440, thereby
placing at least one of the fluid reservoirs 440 in fluid
communication with the patient or an intermediary device containing
a bodily-fluid. While not shown, in other embodiments, coupling the
collection device 400 to the fluid reservoirs 440 can automatically
facilitate access such that bodily-fluid flow begins as soon as
physical coupling is complete. Thus, the fluid reservoir 440 can
receive a flow of bodily-fluid from the patient or intermediary
device containing bodily-fluid.
As described above with reference to the collection device 300, the
arrangement of the collection device 400 (or portion thereof) is
such that the sterility of at least the portion of the fluid
reservoir 440 in contact with the sterilization member 450 is
maintained until a time relatively shortly before the transfer
adapter 420 is placed in fluid communication with the fluid
reservoir 440. Thus, by maintaining the sterility of a fluidic
interface between the transfer adapter 420 and the fluid reservoir
440 until a relatively short time before placing the transfer
adapter 420 in fluid communication with the fluid reservoirs 440,
the probability of external contaminants being transferred into the
bodily-fluid sample received by the fluid reservoir 440 can be
reduced. Moreover, pre-sterilizing fluidic interfaces and
automatically exposing those fluidic interfaces just before
establishing fluid communication between the transfer adapter 420
and the fluid reservoir 440 can increase compliance with
sterilization protocols and ease of performing the procedure, as
well as reduce costs and inadvertent mistakes.
Referring now to FIGS. 11-14, a collection device 500 is
illustrated according to another embodiment. As shown in FIG. 11,
the collection device 500 includes a transfer adapter 520, a fluid
reservoir 540, and a sterilization member 550. Some aspects of the
collection device 500 can be similar in form and function to
associated aspects of the collection devices 100, 200, 300, and/or
400 (and/or components thereof) described above. For example, the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 11-14 illustrates the fluid reservoir
540, which can be similar to or substantially the same as the fluid
reservoir 240 described above with reference to FIG. 2. Thus,
aspects of the collection device 500 similar in form and function
to associated and/or corresponding aspects of the collection
devices, and/or components thereof, described above are not
described in further detail herein.
The transfer adapter 520 of the collection device 500 can be any
suitable transfer adapter. For example, in some embodiments, the
transfer adapter 520 can be substantially similar in form and/or
function to the transfer adapters 120, 220, 320, and/or 420
described above. Thus, aspects of the transfer adapter 520 are not
described in further detail herein. As shown in FIG. 11, the
transfer adapter 520 includes an inner surface 523 that defines an
inner volume 530 configured to receive a portion of the fluid
reservoir 540 and the sterilization member 550. Although not shown
in FIGS. 11-14, the transfer adapter 520 can include a puncture
member, a port, a transfer member, and/or the like configured to
establish fluid communication between the transfer adapter 520 and
the fluid reservoirs 540. For example, in some embodiments, the
transfer adapter 520 can include a puncture member such as a
sheathed needle or the like that can pierce or puncture a surface
541 of the fluid reservoir 540 (see e.g., FIG. 14) to establish
fluid communication between the transfer adapter 520 and the fluid
reservoir 540.
The inner surface 523 includes a first portion 525 and a second
portion 527. The first portion 525 defines a set of channels 524
configured to engage a portion of the sterilization member 550 as
the fluid reservoir 540 is inserted into the inner volume 530, as
described above with reference to the transfer adapter 320 and 420.
For example, the channels 524 can slidably receive a portion of the
sterilization member 550 to guide the sterilization member 550
and/or the fluid reservoir 540 to which it is coupled when the
fluid reservoir 540 is moved relative to the transfer adapter 520,
as described in further detail herein.
As shown, for example, in FIG. 11, the first portion 525 of the
inner surface 523 has a width defined between opposite sides of the
first portion 525 that is less than a width defined between
opposite sides of the second portion 525. Moreover, the first
portion 525 of the inner surface 523 has a depth that is greater
than a depth of the second portion 527 of the inner surface 523.
This arrangement of the inner surface 523 forms an edge surface 528
or corner that is associated with a difference between the width of
the first portion 525 and the width of the second portion 527. The
edge surface 528 extends along the depth of the second portion 527
and includes, for example, a ramp portion 529 or the like. As
described in further detail herein, a portion of the sterilization
member 550 is configured to be placed in contact with the edge
surface 528 when the sterilization member 550 is inserted into the
inner volume.
The sterilization member 550 of the collection device 500 can be
any suitable sterilization member and/or mechanism. In the
embodiment shown in FIGS. 11-14, for example, the sterilization
member 550 is a cap or the like coupled to a portion of the fluid
reservoir 540. For example, the sterilization member 550 can be
formed from a relatively flexible material and can be coupled to a
proximal rim 543 of the fluid reservoir 540 via a friction fit,
press fit, threaded coupling, and/or the like. As described above,
the sterilization member 550 is configured to be coupled to the
fluid reservoir 540 to obstruct and/or fluidically isolate the
surface 541 of the fluid reservoir 540. For example, in some
embodiments, the sterilization member 550 can be coupled to the
fluid reservoir 540 during a manufacturing process (e.g., as
described above with reference to the fluid reservoirs 340 and
sterilization member 350). In other embodiments, the sterilization
member 550 can be coupled to the fluid reservoir 540 prior to use
(e.g., by a user). Moreover, when the sterilization member 550 is
coupled to the fluid reservoir 540, the sterilization member 550 is
configured to maintain the surface 541 (e.g., a fluidic interface,
port, etc.) of the fluid reservoir 540 in a substantially sterile
environment prior to use, as described in detail above.
As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the sterilization member 550 includes
a collar 560 or the like having a first portion 561 and a second
portion 562. The first portion 561 and the second portion 562 of
the collar 560 can be positioned about a portion of the fluid
reservoir 560 and coupled (e.g., via a snap fit, interference fit,
etc.) to couple the collar 560 to the fluid reservoir 540.
Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 11-14, the collar 560 forms a flange
563 or the like configured to be inserted into the channels 524 of
the transfer adapter 520 as the sterilization member 550 is moved
within the inner volume 530, as described in detail above. In this
manner, the flange 563 can, for example, orient and/or direct the
sterilization member 550 relative to the transfer adapter 520 as
the sterilization member 550 is inserted into the inner volume
530.
In use, a user can place the transfer adapter 520 in fluid
communication with a lumen-defining device, transfer device,
collection device, diversion device, and/or the like, which in
turn, is in fluid communication with a portion of the body of a
patient (or intermediary device containing a bodily-fluid, as
described in detail above with reference to the transfer adapter
120. Moreover, the fluid reservoir 540 and the sterilization member
550 can be in a first configuration in which the sterilization
member 550 obstructs, covers, and/or otherwise fluidically isolates
the surface 541 of the fluid reservoir to substantially maintain
the sterility of the surface 541. The user can manipulate the
transfer adapter 520 and/or the fluid reservoir 540 to insert the
flange 563 of the collar 560 into the channels 524, as described
above, for example, with reference to the collection device 300. As
the user inserts the portion of the sterilization member 550 into
the inner volume 530 of the transfer adapter 520, sterilization
member 550 is placed in contact with the edge surface 528, as shown
in FIG. 13. In some embodiments, coupling the collar 560 about the
fluid reservoir 540 and disposing the flange 563 in the channels
524 places the sterilization member 550 in a predetermined position
(e.g., height) relative to the transfer adapter 520. For example,
the predetermined position can be a position in which the
sterilization member 550 is placed in contact with the edge surface
528. Thus, as the sterilization member 550 is advanced relative to
the transfer adapter 520, the sterilization member 550 is placed in
contact with the ramp portion 529 of the edge surface 528, as shown
in FIG. 13.
With the sterilization member 550 in contact with the ramp portion
529 of the edge surface 528, further movement of the sterilization
member 550 into the inner volume 530 advances the sterilization
member 550 relative to the ramp portion 529, which in turn,
removes, disengages, peels, and/or otherwise decouples the
sterilization member 550 from the fluid reservoir 540, as shown in
FIG. 14. As such, the sterilization member 550 is in contact with
the edge surface 528 and disposed within a portion of the inner
volume 530 defined by the second portion 527 of the inner surface
523. With the sterilization member 550 decoupled from the fluid
reservoir 540, the fluid reservoir 540 can be moved within the
inner volume 530 relative to the sterilization member 550 and
placed in a desired position. For example, the fluid reservoir 540
can be advanced within the inner volume 530 to a depth that is
substantially beyond the second portion 527 of the inner surface
523, as shown in FIG. 14.
With the sterilization member 550 decoupled from the fluid
reservoir 540, the surface 541 of the fluid reservoir 540 is
substantially exposed. In some embodiments, the desired position of
the fluid reservoir 540 within the transfer adapter 520 can
substantially align a portion of the surface 541 (e.g., a port or
other fluidic interface) with a transfer member (e.g., a puncture
member such as a sheathed needle or the like). Thus, with the fluid
reservoir 540 in the desired position relative to the transfer
adapter 520, the user can manipulate the collection device 500 (or
portion thereof) to place the transfer adapter 520 in fluid
communication with the fluid reservoir 540. For example, in some
embodiments, the user can actuate an actuator configured to advance
a puncture member or the like through a port or fluidic interface
of the surface 541 of the fluid reservoir 540, thereby placing the
fluid reservoir 540 in fluid communication with the patient. While
not shown, in other embodiments, the physical process of coupling
the collection device 500 to the fluid reservoir 540 via the
transfer adapter 520 automatically facilitates a flow path for
bodily-fluid without specific user manipulation. Thus, the fluid
reservoir 540 can receive a flow of bodily-fluid from the patient
or intermediary device containing a bodily fluid.
As described above with reference to the collection device 300, the
arrangement of the collection device 500 (or portion thereof) is
such that the sterility of at least the surface 541 of the fluid
reservoir 540 is maintained until a time relatively shortly before
the transfer adapter 520 is placed in fluid communication with the
fluid reservoir 540. Thus, by maintaining the sterility of a
fluidic interface between the transfer adapter 520 and the fluid
reservoir 540 until a relatively short time before placing the
transfer adapter 520 in fluid communication with the fluid
reservoirs, the probability of external contaminants being
transferred into the bodily-fluid sample received by the fluid
reservoir 540 can be reduced. Moreover, pre-sterilizing fluidic
interfaces and automatically exposing those fluidic interfaces just
before establishing fluid communication between the transfer
adapter 520 and the fluid reservoir 540 can increase compliance
with sterilization protocols and ease of performing the procedure,
as well as reduce costs and inadvertent mistakes.
As described above, the transfer adapters 120, 220, 320, 420, and
520 can be included in and/or coupled to any suitable device
configured to receive a fluid of bodily-fluid from a patient. Such
devices can be any suitable collection device, transfer device,
diversion device, and/or the like. For example, FIGS. 15-17
illustrate a collection device 600 according to an embodiment. The
collection device 600 can be any suitable device configured to
withdraw and/or receive bodily-fluid from a patient. Moreover, the
collection device 600 can be used in conjunction with any of the
transfer adapters, sterilization members, and/or fluid reservoirs
described herein. In other embodiments, the arrangement of the
collection device 600 can minimize fluid interfaces or the like,
which in turn, can reduce a likelihood of a sample becoming
contaminated by external contaminants.
As shown in FIGS. 15-17, the collection device 600 includes and/or
forms a handle 610 having a proximal end portion 611 and a distal
end portion 612. The distal end portion 612 of the handle 610 can
include and/or can be coupled to any suitable port 614 or the like
configured to be placed in fluid communication with one or more
fluid reservoirs. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the proximal
end portion 611 of the handle 610 includes at least two ports 614
configured to be physically and fluidically coupled to one or more
fluid reservoirs 670A and 670B. The fluid reservoirs 670A and/or
670B can be, for example, evacuated reservoirs such as a
Vacutainer.RTM. or the like. In some embodiments, the fluid
reservoirs 670A and/or 670B can be configured to receive a
pre-sample volume of bodily-fluid that can contain, for example,
dermally-residing microbes, external contaminants or the like. In
other embodiments, the fluid reservoirs 670A and/or 670B can
receive a sample volume of bodily-fluid, which subsequently can be
used in any suitable testing process or the like.
The distal end portion 612 includes a coupler 613 or the like
configured to be physically and fluidically coupled to any suitable
transfer adapter such as, for example, those described herein. In
other embodiments, the coupler 613 can form an integrated transfer
adapter or the like. As such, the coupler 613 is configured to be
at least indirectly physically and fluidically coupled to any
suitable device and/or mechanism configured to transfer
bodily-fluid to and/or from the collection device 600, as described
in further detail herein.
The handle 610 also includes a system actuator 615 configured to
initiate, modulate, divert, and/or otherwise control a flow of the
bodily-fluid through the handle 610. Although not shown in FIGS.
15-17, the handle 610 can include any suitable internal component,
mechanism, reservoir, or the like configured to facilitate the
transfer of bodily-fluid through the handle 610. For example, in
some embodiments, the system actuator 615 can be coupled to and/or
otherwise include any suitable device, mechanism, assembly, member,
etc. operable in selectively limiting, controlling, regulating,
diverting, etc. a flow of the bodily-fluid. Specifically, although
not shown in FIGS. 15-17, the handle 610 can include any suitable
flow control mechanism that can control a flow of the bodily-fluid
into and/or from one or more fluid reservoirs 619 disposed within
the handle 610. In some embodiments, such a flow control mechanism
can be any of those described in the '241 patent, the '724 patent,
the '864 patent, and/or the '495 patent, each of which is
incorporated by reference above. In some embodiments, such fluid
reservoirs 619 can be, for example, evacuated containers or the
like such as a Vacutainer.RTM.. In other embodiments, the system
actuator 615 can include a plunger or the like that can move inside
a fluid reservoir to increase an inner volume of the fluid
reservoir. The increase in volume can produce a negative pressure
within the inner volume of the fluid reservoir, which in turn, can
draw bodily-fluid into the fluid reservoir. In some embodiments,
actuating the system actuator 615 can be operable in diverting a
pre-sample volume of bodily-fluid into a pre-sample reservoir (not
shown) and once transferred, sequestering the pre-sample volume of
bodily-fluid within the pre-sample reservoir. In this manner, a
subsequent volume of bodily-fluid withdrawn from the patient into
the fluid reservoirs 619 can be substantially free from
dermally-residing microbes, external microbes or other contaminants
sequestered in the pre-sample reservoir. In some embodiments,
actuating the system actuator 615 can be operable in diverting a
pre-sample volume of bodily-fluid into, for example, at least one
of the fluid reservoirs 670A and/or 670B.
The coupler 613 of the handle 610 can be coupled to any suitable
device. For example, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the coupler 613
is coupled to a lumen-defining device 616 such as sterile flexible
tubing. The lumen-defining device 616 can include a needle 618 or
cannula disposed at a first end of the lumen-defining device 616
that is configured to puncture or pierce the skin of a patient to
place the lumen-defining device 616 in fluid communication with the
patient. While not shown, in other embodiments, the lumen-defining
device 616 can be substantially similar to standard peripheral IV
catheter, which can facilitate access to a patient's bloodstream
and/or other bodily-fluid source. The lumen-defining device 616
also includes an adapter 617 at a second end that can physically
and fluidically couple the lumen-defining device 616 to the coupler
613 of the handle 610. The adapter 617 and the coupler 613 can be
coupled in any suitable manner such as, for example, a press fit, a
friction fit, a set of tabs, and/or the like. In some embodiments,
the coupler 613 can define a set of channels or the like within
which a portion of the adapter 617 can be inserted. In such
embodiments, the portion of the adapter 617 can be inserted in to
the channels of the coupler 613 and slid therein to a desired
position relative to the handle 610. As described above with
reference to the housing 345, in some embodiments, the adapter 617
can include a sterilization member or the like that can be
transitioned, for example, from a first configuration, in which the
sterility of an interface of the adapter 617 is maintained, to a
second configuration, in which at least a portion of the
sterilization member is removed from the adapter 617. Moreover,
coupling the adapter 617 to the coupler 613 can place the handle
610 in fluid communication with the lumen-defining device 616.
Thus, bodily-fluid can be transferred from a patient to the fluid
reservoirs 619 disposed within the handle 610 in response to, for
example, a user actuating the system actuator 615.
In a similar manner, the coupler 613 can be at least indirectly
coupled to one or more fluid reservoirs 640A and/or 640B. For
example, as shown in FIG. 17, the adapter 617 coupled to the
lumen-defining device 616 can be removed from the coupler 613 and
an adapter 646 coupled to the fluid reservoirs 640A and 640B can be
coupled to the coupler 613. In some embodiments, the adapter 646
can be coupled to the coupler 613 in a substantially similar manner
as described with reference to the adapter 617. Thus, when the
adapter 646 is coupled to the coupler 613, the fluid reservoirs
640A and/or 640B can be placed in fluid communication with, for
example, one or more fluid reservoirs within the handle 610.
As shown in FIG. 17, the adapter 646 is coupled to and/or disposed
about at least a portion of the fluid reservoirs 640A and 640B. In
some embodiments, the adapter 646 can be similar in form and/or
function to, for example, the housing 345 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
In this manner, the adapter 646 can include a sterilization member
or the like configured to define at least a portion of a sterile
environment within which at least the portion of the fluid
reservoirs 640A and 640B can be disposed, as described above with
reference to the housing 345 and the sterilization member 350 of
FIGS. 3 and 4.
In some embodiments, the adapter 646 can include an actuator 647,
which can direct a flow of bodily-fluid from the fluid reservoir(s)
619 within the handle 610 and through the adapter 646 when
actuated. In other words, the actuator 647 of the adapter 646 can
selectively place the fluid reservoirs 640A and/or 640B in fluid
communication with the coupler 613 of the handle 610. In some
embodiments, coupling the adapter 646 to the coupler 613 can
automatically establish fluid communication between the fluid
reservoirs 640A and/or 640B and the handle 610. For example, in
some embodiments, the coupler 613 can include one or more puncture
members configured to puncture a portion of the adapter 646 and the
fluid reservoir(s) 640A and 640B when the adapter 646 is coupled
thereto. In other embodiments, the coupling of the adapter 646 to
the coupler 613 at least partially removes and/or decouples a
sterilization member such that an inlet surface, interface, and/or
the like of the fluid reservoir(s) 640A and/or 640B is
unobstructed. In such embodiments, the puncture members of the
coupler 613 need not puncture a portion of the adapter 646 in
conjunction with and/or prior to puncturing, for example, an inlet
surface of the fluid reservoirs 640A and/or 640B. Thus,
bodily-fluid stored within the fluid reservoir(s) 619 in the handle
610 can be transferred to the fluid reservoirs 640A and/or 640B,
which in turn, can be used in any suitable testing and/or analysis
process.
In some instances, reducing a number of fluidic interfaces along a
fluid flow path can reduce a likelihood of contaminants being
transferred into a volume of bodily-fluid flowing within the fluid
flow path. Thus, the modular arrangement of the collection device
600 can result in a reduction of contaminants in the bodily-fluid
that is ultimately transferred into the fluid reservoirs 640A
and/or 640B. Although not shown in FIGS. 15-17, any of the
components (e.g., the coupler 613 and/or the adapters 617 and 646)
can include any suitable sterilization member such as those
described above. As such, the sterility of the fluidic interfaces
can be maintained until the collection device 600 is placed in a
configuration associated with transferring a bodily-fluid to and/or
from the handle 610. Additionally, at least some or all of the
components depicted in FIGS. 15-17 can be pre-assembled during a
manufacturing process and sterilized using standard medical
techniques (e.g. ethylene oxide, gamma radiation, e-beam or the
like) to maintain sterility of the enclosed collection device
and/or sample reservoirs.
FIGS. 18-21 illustrate a collection device 700 according to another
embodiment. The collection device 700 can be any suitable device
configured to withdraw and/or receive bodily-fluid from a patient.
Moreover, the collection device 700 can be used in conjunction with
any of the transfer adapters, sterilization members, and/or fluid
reservoirs described herein. In some embodiments, the arrangement
of the collection device 700 can minimize fluid interfaces or the
like, which in turn, can reduce a likelihood of a sample becoming
contaminated by external contaminants. Some aspects of the
collection device 700 can be substantially similar in form and/or
function to the associated aspects of the collection device 600
described above with reference to FIGS. 15-17. Thus, such similar
aspects are not described in further detail herein.
As shown in FIGS. 18-21, the collection device 700 includes and/or
forms a handle 710 having a proximal end portion 711 and a distal
end portion 712. The handle 710 also includes a system actuator 715
configured to initiate, modulate, divert, and/or otherwise control
a flow of the bodily-fluid through the handle 710 and one or more
fluid reservoirs 719 configured to receive and at least temporarily
store a volume of bodily-fluid. Although not shown in FIGS. 18-21,
the handle 710 can include any suitable internal component,
mechanism, device, or the like configured to facilitate the
transfer of bodily-fluid through the handle 710, as described in
detail above with reference to the handle 610.
The proximal end portion 711 of the handle 710 can include and/or
can be coupled to any suitable port or the like configured to be
placed in fluid communication with the fluid reservoir(s) 719
disposed within the handle 710, as described above with reference
to the handle 610. The distal end portion 712 includes a coupler
713 or the like configured to be physically and fluidically coupled
to any suitable transfer adapter such as, for example, those
described herein. In other embodiments, the coupler 713 can form an
integrated transfer adapter or the like. As such, the coupler 713
is configured to be at least indirectly physically and fluidically
coupled to any suitable device and/or mechanism configured to
transfer bodily-fluid to and/or from the collection device 700, as
described in further detail herein.
The coupler 713 of the handle 710 can be coupled to any suitable
device. For example, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the coupler 713
is coupled to a lumen-defining device 716 such as sterile flexible
tubing. The lumen-defining device 716 can include a needle 718 or
cannula disposed at a first end of the lumen-defining device 716
that is configured to puncture or pierce the skin of a patient to
place the lumen-defining device 716 in fluid communication with the
patient. While not shown, in other embodiments, the lumen-defining
device 716 can be substantially similar to standard peripheral IV
catheter, which can facilitate access to a patient's bloodstream
and/or other bodily-fluid source. The lumen-defining device 716
also includes an adapter 717 at a second end configured to be
physically and fluidically coupled to the coupler 713 of the handle
710. The adapter 717 and the coupler 713 can be coupled in any
suitable manner such as, for example, a press fit, a friction fit,
a set of tabs, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the coupler
713 can define a set of channels or the like within which a portion
of the adapter 717 can be inserted. As described in detail above
with reference to the collection device 600, coupling the adapter
717 to the coupler 713 can place the handle 710 in fluid
communication with the lumen-defining device 716. Thus,
bodily-fluid can be transferred from a patient to the fluid
reservoir(s) 719 in response to, for example, a user actuating the
system actuator 715.
As shown in FIG. 19, a fluid reservoir 770A (e.g., an external
fluid reservoir and/or a pre-sample reservoir) can be coupled to
the adapter 717 prior to the adapter 717 being coupled to the
coupler 713 and/or after the adapter 717 is removed from the
coupler 713. In other words, the fluid reservoir 770A can be a
pre-sample reservoir or the like configured to receive a pre-sample
volume of bodily-fluid. In some instances, transferring a volume of
bodily-fluid to the fluid reservoir 770A prior to coupling the
adapter 717 to the coupler 713 can, for example, entrain
contaminants within the flow of bodily-fluid, which in turn, can be
sequestered in the fluid reservoir 770A. In such instances, once a
desired volume of bodily-fluid is transferred into the fluid
reservoir 770A, the fluid reservoir 770A can be removed from the
adapter 717, which can then be coupled to the coupler 713. Thus, by
sequestering a first volume of bodily-fluid in the fluid reservoir
770A, a subsequent volume of bodily-fluid transferred to one or
more fluid reservoir(s) 719 disposed within the handle 710 can be
substantially free from dermally-residing microbes, external
contaminants, or the like. In other embodiments, the fluid
reservoir 770A can receive a volume of bodily-fluid that can be
used for additional testing and/or the like.
As described above with reference to the collection device 600,
after a volume of bodily-fluid is transferred to the fluid
reservoir(s) 719 disposed within the handle 710, the coupler 713
can be at least indirectly coupled to one or more fluid reservoirs
740A and/or 740B (e.g., external fluid reservoirs and/or sample
reservoirs). For example, as shown in FIG. 20, the adapter 717
coupled to the lumen-defining device 716 can be removed from the
coupler 713 and an adapter 746 coupled to the fluid reservoirs 740A
and 740B can be coupled to the coupler 713. In some embodiments,
the adapter 746 can be coupled to the coupler 713 in a
substantially similar manner as described with reference to the
adapter 717. In some embodiments, the adapters 717 and/or 746 can
include and/or can be at least temporarily coupled to a
sterilization member configured to maintain the sterility of, for
example, an interface of the adapters 717 and/or 746 prior to being
coupled to the coupler 713, as described above with reference to
the adapters 617 and 646.
When the adapter 746 is coupled to the coupler 713, the fluid
reservoirs 740A and/or 740B can be placed in fluid communication
with, for example, the one or more fluid reservoirs 719 within the
handle 710. As described above, the adapter 746 can include an
actuator 747 that can direct a flow of bodily-fluid from the fluid
reservoir(s) 719 within the handle 710 and through the adapter 746
when actuated. In other words, the actuator 747 of the adapter 746
can selectively place the fluid reservoirs 740A and/or 740B in
fluid communication with the coupler 713 and/or the fluid
reservoirs 719 within the handle 710. Thus, bodily-fluid stored
within the fluid reservoir(s) 719 in the handle 710 can be
transferred to the fluid reservoirs 740A and/or 740B, which in
turn, can be used in any suitable testing and/or analysis process,
as described above with reference to the collection device 600.
As shown in FIG. 21, in some embodiments, an additional reservoir
770B can be physically and fluidically coupled to the adapter 746.
For example, in some instances, a relatively large volume of
bodily-fluid can be withdrawn from the patient, which can, for
example, allow for the additional fluid reservoir 770B to be
coupled to the adapter 746. Thus, a volume of the bodily-fluid can
be transferred into the additional fluid reservoir 770B that can
subsequently be used for additional testing or the like. Moreover,
in some embodiments, the actuator 747 included in the adapter 746
can be configured to control a flow of bodily fluid from the
reservoir(s) disposed within the handle 710 to the fluid reservoirs
740A, 740B, and/or 770B.
FIGS. 22-24 illustrate a collection device 800 according to another
embodiment. The collection device 800 can be any suitable device
configured to withdraw and/or receive bodily-fluid from a patient.
Moreover, the collection device 800 can be used in conjunction with
any of the transfer adapters, sterilization members, and/or fluid
reservoirs described herein. In some embodiments, the arrangement
of the collection device 800 can minimize fluid interfaces or the
like, which in turn, can reduce a likelihood of a sample becoming
contaminated by external contaminants. Some aspects of the
collection device 800 can be substantially similar in form and/or
function to the associated aspects of the collection device 600
and/or 700 described above with reference to FIGS. 15-17 and FIGS.
18-21, respectively. Thus, such similar aspects are not described
in further detail herein.
The collection device 800 includes and/or forms a handle 810 having
a proximal end portion 811 and a distal end portion 812. The
proximal end portion 811 of the handle 810 can include and/or can
be coupled to any suitable port or the like configured to be placed
in fluid communication with one or more fluid reservoirs, as
described above with reference to the handle 610. As shown, the
distal end portion 812 of the handle 810 is physically and
fluidically coupled to a lumen-defining device 816 such as sterile
flexible tubing. The lumen-defining device 816 can include a needle
818 or cannula disposed at a first end of the lumen-defining device
816 that is configured to puncture or pierce the skin of a patient
to place the lumen-defining device 816 in fluid communication with
the patient. A second end of the lumen-defining device 816 is
fixedly coupled to the distal end portion 812 of the handle 810.
That is to say, the lumen-defining device 816 can be integrated
into the handle 810 and/or otherwise not coupled to an adapter,
which in turn, would otherwise be coupled to a coupler of the
handle 810 (e.g., as described above with reference to the
lumen-defining devices 616 and 716). Thus, as described in detail
above with reference to the collection devices 600 and 700, the
lumen-defining device 816 can transfer bodily-fluid from a patient
to one or more fluid reservoir(s) 819 disposed within the handle
810, as described in further detail herein.
The handle 810 also includes a coupler 813 and a system actuator
815. The system actuator 815 is configured to initiate, modulate,
divert, and/or otherwise control a flow of the bodily-fluid through
the handle 810. Although not shown in FIGS. 22-24, the handle 810
can include any suitable internal component, mechanism, device,
fluid reservoir, or the like configured to facilitate the transfer
of bodily-fluid through the handle 810, as described in detail
above with reference to the handle 610. Thus, actuating the system
actuator 815 can transfer bodily-fluid from a patient, through the
lumen-defining device 816, and into the one or more fluid
reservoirs 819 disposed within the handle 810.
As described above with reference to the collection devices 600 and
700, the coupler 813 is configured to be physically and fluidically
coupled to any suitable transfer adapter such as, for example,
those described herein. In other embodiments, the coupler 813 can
form an integrated transfer adapter or the like. While the couplers
613 and 713 are shown and described above as being included in
and/or disposed at a distal end portion 612 and 712, respectively,
of the handles 610 and 710, respectively, in the embodiment shown
in FIGS. 22-24, the coupler 813 can be disposed at or near the
proximal end portion 811 of the handle 810 and/or at any other
suitable location along the handle 810 (e.g., along a top surface
of the handle 810, a bottom surface of the handle 810, and/or along
a side surface of the handle 810).
The coupler 813 is configured to be physically and fluidically
coupled (at least indirectly) to any suitable device and/or
mechanism configured to transfer bodily-fluid to and/or from the
collection device 800. For example, as shown in FIGS. 22 and 23,
the coupler 813 can be at least indirectly coupled to one or more
fluid reservoirs 840A and/or 840B. More specifically, an adapter
846 coupled to the fluid reservoirs 840A and 840B can be coupled to
the coupler 813. In some embodiments, the adapter 846 can be
coupled to the coupler 813 in a substantially similar manner as
described above with reference to the adapter 646. In some
embodiments, the adapter 846 can include and/or can be at least
temporarily coupled to a sterilization member configured to
maintain the sterility of, for example, an interface of the adapter
846 prior to being coupled to the coupler 813, as described above
with reference to the adapters 617 and 646. Thus, when the adapter
846 is coupled to the coupler 813, the fluid reservoirs 840A and/or
840B can be placed in fluid communication with, for example, one or
more fluid reservoirs 819 within the handle 810.
Although the adapters 646 and 746 are described above as having an
actuator, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22-24, the coupler
813 of the handle 810 includes an actuator 835. As described above,
the actuator 835 can be configured to direct a flow of bodily-fluid
from the fluid reservoir(s) within the handle 810 and through the
adapter 846. In other words, the actuator 835 of the coupler 813
can selectively place the fluid reservoirs 840A and/or 840B in
fluid communication with the handle 810. Thus, bodily-fluid stored
within the fluid reservoir(s) 819 in the handle 810 can be
transferred to the fluid reservoirs 840A and/or 840B, which in
turn, can be used in any suitable testing and/or analysis process,
as described above with reference to the collection device 600.
As described above with reference to the portion of the collection
device 300, the embodiment shown in FIGS. 22-24 includes a
sterilization member 850 coupled to the adapter 846. For example,
the sterilization member 850 can be a sheet, film, foil, wipe,
seal, and/or the like configured to at least temporarily
fluidically isolate a portion the adapter 846. Thus, as described
above, the sterilization member 850 can be configured to seal the
adapter 846 to maintain a portion of the fluid reservoirs 840A and
840B in a substantially sterile environment prior to use. In some
embodiments, coupling the adapter 846 to the coupler 813 can
include disposing at least a portion of the sterilization member
850 through a set of channels or the like (not shown). As described
in detail above with reference to the sterilization member 350, a
surface of the coupler 813 defining at least a portion of the
channels can engage the sterilization member 850 to remove at least
a portion of the adapter 846. Thus, a portion of the fluid
reservoirs 840A and 840B can be exposed and placed in fluid
communication with the handle 810, as described above.
As shown in FIG. 24, in some embodiments, an additional reservoir
870 can be physically and fluidically coupled to the coupler 813.
For example, in some instances, a relatively large volume of
bodily-fluid can be withdrawn from the patient, which can, for
example, allow for the additional fluid reservoir 870 to be coupled
to the coupler 813. Thus, a volume of the bodily-fluid can be
transferred into the additional fluid reservoir 870 that can
subsequently be used for additional testing or the like. In other
embodiments, the additional fluid reservoir 870 can be coupled to
the adapter 846. In some embodiments, the actuator 835 included in
the coupler 813 can be configured to control a flow of bodily fluid
from the reservoir(s) 819 disposed within the handle 810 to the
fluid reservoirs 840A, 840B, and/or 870.
In some embodiments, the actuator 815 can be configured to remain
in a locked configuration until a volume of bodily-fluid is
transferred into, for example, the fluid reservoir 870 (e.g., a
pre-sample reservoir). Thus, in some instances, contaminants
contained in a fluid flow path defined between the fluid
reservoir(s) 819 within the handle 810 and the coupler can be
transferred into the fluid reservoir 870. In such instances, after
the volume of bodily-fluid is transferred into the fluid reservoir
870, the fluid reservoir 870 can be removed from the coupler 813,
which in turn, can sequester the contaminants in the fluid
reservoir 870. Thus, subsequent volumes of bodily-fluid transferred
to the fluid reservoirs 840A and/or 840B can be substantially free
from contaminants. Moreover, disposing the actuator 815 in a locked
configuration prior to a volume of bodily-fluid being transferred
into the fluid reservoir 870 can ensure a user first collects the
volume of bodily-fluid in the fluid reservoir 870, which can reduce
an amount of contaminants transferred into the fluid reservoirs
840A and 840B, as described above.
While the handles 610, 710, and 810 are each described above as
including the coupler 613, 713, and 813, respectively, that is
configured to couple to an adapter, in other embodiments, a handle
can include multiple couplers each of which can be coupled to an
adapter. For example, in some embodiments, a handle can include a
first coupler disposed at, for example, a distal end portion of the
handle (e.g., similar to the couplers 613 and 713 described above).
The first coupler can be configured to couple to an adapter in
fluid communication with, for example, a lumen-defining device that
can be placed in fluid communication with one or more fluid
reservoirs disposed within the handle when coupled to the first
coupler. The handle can also include a second coupler disposed at,
for example, a proximal end portion of the handle (e.g., similar to
the coupler 813 described above). The second coupler can be
configured to couple to an adapter in fluid communication with, for
example, one or more sample reservoirs that can be placed in fluid
communication with the one or more fluid reservoirs disposed within
the handle when coupled to the second coupler. In such embodiments,
a volume of bodily-fluid can be transferred from the patient into
the one or more fluid reservoirs within the handle, as described
above with reference to the handles 610, 710, and/or 810. A volume
of the bodily-fluid within the one or more fluid reservoirs within
the handle can then be transferred into the sample reservoirs
coupled to the second coupler, as described above with reference to
the handles 610, 710, and/or 810.
FIG. 25 is a flowchart illustrating a method 10 of
parentally-procuring bodily-fluid samples with reduced
contamination, according to an embodiment. The method 10 includes
establishing fluid communication between a patient and a first
fluid reservoir, at 11. The first fluid reservoir can be any
suitable fluid reservoir such as those described herein. In some
embodiments, for example, the first fluid reservoir can be a fluid
reservoir disposed within a handle (e.g., the handles 610, 710,
and/or 810) and/or any other suitable fluid transfer device.
In some embodiments, the first fluid reservoir can be in fluid
communication with a lumen-defining device or the like that defines
at least a portion of a fluid flow path between the patient and the
first fluid reservoir. For example, the lumen-defining device can
be coupled to and/or can include a needle at a first end and can be
coupled to the first fluid reservoir and/or other suitable flow
path at a second end (e.g., opposite the first end), as described
above with reference to the collection device 800. In some
embodiments, the lumen-defining device can be coupled to and/or
included in an adapter or the like configured to couple to a
portion of a fluid transfer device that includes the first fluid
reservoir, as described above with reference to the collection
devices 600 and/or 700. In some embodiments, fluid communication
between the first fluid reservoir and the lumen-defining device
(and thus, the patient) can be in response to, for example, an
actuation of an actuator or the like, as described above with
reference to the collection devices 600, 700, and/or 800.
Once fluid communication is established between the first fluid
reservoir and the patient, a volume of bodily-fluid can be
withdrawn from the patient and into the first fluid reservoir, at
12. Alternatively, as described above, the method 10 can optionally
include withdrawing a pre-sample volume of bodily-fluid into one or
more pre-sample reservoirs prior to transferring the volume of
bodily-fluid to the first fluid reservoir. The pre-sample volume
can then be sequestered in the pre-sample volume prior to
transferring the bodily-fluid to the first fluid reservoir. In some
instances, transferring bodily-fluid to the first fluid reservoir
can be blocked and/or substantially prevented until a pre-sample
volume has been sequestered in a pre-sample reservoir.
With the volume of bodily-fluid contained in the first fluid
reservoir, a second fluid reservoir is coupled to a transfer
adapter in fluid communication with the first fluid reservoir, at
13. The transfer adapter can be any of those described herein. In
some embodiments, the transfer adapter can be substantially similar
to the coupler 613 described above with reference to FIGS. 15-17.
The second fluid reservoir can be any suitable fluid reservoir such
as those described herein. In some embodiments, a portion of the
second fluid reservoir can be coupled to, for example, a
sterilization member or the like configured to maintain the
sterility of an inlet surface of the second fluid reservoir. The
sterilization member can be substantially similar to any of those
described herein. As such, the sterilization member can define at
least a portion of a sterile environment in which the inlet surface
of the second fluid reservoir is disposed.
The sterilization member is moved relative to the inlet surface of
the second fluid reservoir such that fluid communication can be
established between the second fluid reservoir and the transfer
adapter, at 14. For example, in some embodiments, the transfer
adapter can include a surface, a feature, a contour, a protrusion,
etc. configured to be placed in contact with the sterilization
member as the second fluid reservoir is coupled to the transfer
adapter (e.g., occurring at substantially the same time and/or in a
single process). In this manner, as the second fluid reservoir
moves relative to the transfer adapter to couple thereto, the
sterilization member is moved, for example, from a first
configuration to a second configuration. In some embodiments, for
example, the sterilization member can be at least partially removed
from the second fluid reservoir such that the inlet surface is
substantially unobstructed, as described in detail above with
reference to specific embodiments.
With the inlet surface of the second fluid reservoir substantially
unobstructed, fluid communication is established between the first
fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir, at 15. For example,
in some embodiments, a user or the like can actuate an actuator
that can be operable to define a fluid flow path between the first
fluid reservoir and the second fluid reservoir. In some
embodiments, such an actuation of the actuator can, for example,
advance one or more puncture members relative to the second fluid
reservoir such that a portion of the puncture member punctures or
pierces the inlet surface of the second fluid reservoir, as
described above. In some embodiments, multiple actuators can be
actuated to establish fluid communication between the first fluid
reservoir and the second fluid reservoir. Once fluid communication
is established between the first fluid reservoir and the second
fluid reservoir, a volume of bodily-fluid is transferred from the
first fluid reservoir to the second fluid reservoir, at 16. In some
instances, maintaining the sterility of at least a portion of the
fluid reservoir prior to use and/or maintaining the sterility of
one or more interfaces which are coupled to define at least a
portion of a fluid flow path, can result in reduced contamination
within a sample volume of bodily-fluid transferred to the second
fluid reservoir. Similarly, withdrawing a pre-sample volume of
bodily-fluid into a pre-sample reservoir and sequestering the
pre-sample volume within the pre-sample reservoir can also reduce
contaminants that may otherwise be present in a sample volume
transferred to the second fluid reservoir.
Any of the embodiments described herein can include components that
are manufactured, packaged, and sold independently or collectively.
For example, in some instances, any of the embodiments described
herein can be manufactured, assembled, and packaged collectively
during a manufacturing process. In such instances, one or more
sterilization members, such as those described herein, can be
positioned within a collection device and/or coupled to a sample
reservoir during a manufacturing process (e.g., during assembly),
which can be performed, for example, in a substantially sterile
environment and/or facilitated using post-manufacturing standard
medical sterilization techniques (e.g. ethylene oxide, gamma
radiation, e-beam, or the like). Moreover, the position of the
sterilization member can be such that during use, a clinician is
substantially prevented from collecting and/or transferring a
bodily-fluid sample into a fluid reservoir(s) without engaging the
sterilization member to at least substantially sterilize a
connection between the collection device and the fluid
reservoir.
Although not shown, any of the embodiments and/or methods described
herein can be used in conjunction with and/or otherwise in the
methods described in the '782 publication incorporated by reference
above. For example, the embodiments, described herein can be used
to collect a bodily-fluid sample, which in turn can be used in any
of the testing methods, diagnostic methods, and/or analysis methods
described in the '782 publication.
While various embodiments have been described above, it should be
understood that they have been presented by way of example only,
and not limitation. For example, although not shown, the
embodiments and/or methods described herein can be used with any
suitable fluid transfer device configured to receive a flow of
bodily-fluid from a patient and at least temporarily store and/or
otherwise transfer at least a portion of the bodily-fluid to one or
more sample reservoirs. Similarly, in some embodiments, such a
fluid transfer device can be used to transfer bodily-fluid to a
transfer adapter such as those described herein, which in turn, can
transfer at least a portion of the bodily-fluid to one or more
fluid reservoirs (e.g., sample reservoirs). In some embodiments,
such a fluid transfer device can be any of those described in the
'241 patent, the '724 patent, the '864 patent, the '495 patent,
and/or the '782 publication.
For example, in some instances, the embodiments described herein
can be used with a syringe-based fluid transfer device. In some
such instances, the use of a syringe-based device can allow a user
to manually control a flow of bodily-fluid into a syringe (e.g.,
the transfer device) by modulating a force exerted on an actuator
or plunger. For example, in some instances, a user can control a
rate of fluid transfer and/or an amount of negative pressure,
which, in the case of drawing a volume of blood, can limit and/or
reduce a risk of hemolysis of the volume of blood, a risk of vein
collapse, a risk of inaccurate volume collection, and/or the like.
In some embodiments, such a syringe-based transfer device can be
similar to any of those described in the '495 patent. In some
embodiments, once a desired volume of bodily-fluid (e.g., blood) is
drawn into the syringe-based device, any of the transfer adapters
and/or fluid reservoirs (with or without sterilization members
coupled thereto) can be coupled to and/or placed in fluid
communication with the syringe-based device such that a desired
volume of bodily-fluid can be transferred into one or more fluid
reservoirs (e.g., sample reservoirs). In other embodiments, any of
the transfer adapters and/or devices described herein can be
integrated into and/or otherwise included in a syringe-based
transfer device.
While the embodiments have been particularly shown and described,
it will be understood that various changes in form and details may
be made. Where schematics and/or embodiments described above
indicate certain components arranged in certain orientations or
positions, the arrangement of components may be modified. Although
various embodiments have been described as having particular
features and/or combinations of components, other embodiments are
possible having a combination of any features and/or components
from any of embodiments as discussed above.
By way of example, while the sterilization members 150, 350, 450,
550, 650, 750, and/or 850 have been described above as
substantially maintaining the sterility of a surface of a fluid
reservoir, in other embodiments, any of the sterilization members
described herein can be used to disinfect a surface of a fluid
reservoir. For example, in some embodiments, any of the
sterilization members can be coupled to a portion of a fluid
reservoir in a substantially sterile environment during a
manufacturing process or the like such as those described herein.
Thus, in such embodiments, the sterilization members can be
configured to maintain the sterility of the portion of the fluid
reservoir. In other embodiments, however, any of the sterilization
members described herein can be coupled to a portion of a fluid
reservoir in a non-sterile environment during a manufacturing
process and/or by a user prior to use. Thus, in such embodiments,
the sterilization members can be configured to disinfect the
portion of the fluid reservoir (e.g., an inlet surface or the like)
and/or otherwise remove contaminants from the portion of the fluid
reservoir. Accordingly, while described above as "sterilization
members" configured to maintain the sterility of a portion of a
fluid reservoir, it should be understood that such members can be,
for example, "disinfection members" configured to disinfect the
portion of the fluid reservoir.
The specific configurations of the various components can also be
varied. For example, the size and specific shape of the various
components can be different from the embodiments shown, while still
providing the functions as described herein. More specifically, the
size and shape of the various components can be specifically
selected for a desired rate of bodily-fluid flow into a fluid
reservoir. Similarly, the size and/or specific shape of various
components can be specifically selected for a desired fluid
reservoir. For example, portions of the embodiments described
herein can be modified such that any suitable container,
microcontainer, microliter container, vial, microvial, microliter
vial, nanovial, sample bottle, culture bottle, tube, syringe, etc.
can be placed in contact with a disinfection member to sterilize
one or more interfaces associated therewith prior to a bodily-fluid
being drawn into a volume so defined.
Where methods and/or events described above indicate certain events
and/or procedures occurring in certain order, the ordering of
certain events and/or procedures may be modified. Additionally,
certain of the events may be performed concurrently in a parallel
process when possible, as well as performed sequentially as
described above.
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